ra^ui  HI  ii 


NATHAN  M9RTIMER  HAWKES 


LiBttfcYl 


-, 


HEARTHS    AND    HOMES 

OF   OLD    LYNN 


This  Edition  is 
strictly  limited  to 
Five  Hundred  copies. 

This  Copy  is 

251 


O 

ffi 


HEARTHS  AND  HOMES 
OF  OLD  LYNN 


WITH 


STUDIES    IN    LOCAL    HISTORY 


BY  NATHAN  MORTIMER  HAWKES 

AUTHOR  OF  "IN  LYNN  WOODS  WITH  PEN 
AND  CAMERA."  EDITOR  OF  "  COMMONPLACE 
BOOK  OF  RICHARD  PRATT,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


LYNN,  MASS. 

THOS.  P.   NICHOLS  &   SONS,  PUBLISHERS 
1907 


COPYRIGHT,    1907,   BY 
NATHAN   MORTIMER   HAWKES. 


INSCRIBED   AND   DEDICATED 
TO  MY  DAUGHTER 


WHO   HAS   BEEN    MY   CONSTANT   COMPANION,    MY 

AMANUENSIS,     THE    COPYIST    OF    EVERY 

LINE   OF  .MY   PEN  OR   PENCIL,    MY 

CRITIC,    COMMENTATOR,    AND 

SPUR  TO   EFFORT  IN 

SUNSHINE   AND 

SHADOW 


The  hills  are  dearest,  which  our  childish  feet 
Have  climbed  the  earliest ;    and  the  streams  most  sweet 
Are  ever  those  at  which  our  young  lips  drank,  — 
Stooped  to  their  waters  o'er  the  grassy  bank." 


—  WHITTIER 


PREFACE 


rplHIS    book  is  an  ingathering  of  sketches,    ad- 
_L    dresses,   and    local    historic    studies,   most    of 
which  have  been  printed  in  some  form,  from 
time  to  time,  of  late  years. 

The  present  publication  is  due  to  the  advice  of, 
perhaps  too  zealous,  friends,  who  have  urged  the 
compilation. 

In  a  prefatory  note  to  some  of  these  sketches, 
written  in  1888,  this  language  was  used :  - 

There  is  not  a  nook-shotten  locality  in  Old  Essex 
which  has  changed  less  in  a  hundred  years  than  this 
charming  river-valley,  where  these  sedate  places 
complacently  hold  their  own,  heedless  of  innovations 
about  them. 

The  writer  loves  every  tree,  rocky  hillside,  brook, 
woodland  path  and  recollection  associated  with  them. 
The  writing  of  these  slight  hints  concerning  them 
has  been  a  pleasure,  which  will  be  heightened  if 
the  reading  shall  interest  others. 

Changes  were  then  apprehended.  Some  have  hap- 
pened, and  many  more  are  impending. 

Some  elderly  people  were  named  in  the  text.  Of 
course  these  have  mainly  passed  away  in  the  inter- 
vening years.  In  a  few  instances  note  has  been 
made  of  the  decease  of  a  person  named  or  described. 


PREFACE 

The  author  is  not  vain  enough  to  think  that  these 
rambles  in  the  olden  time  could  not  be  re-touched 
and  improved,  but  as  they  were  written  and  given 
out  they  must  remain. 

One  motive  in  the  local  studies  in  this  book  is  to 
recall  some  of  the  scenes,  incidents,  happenings  and 
worthies  of  the  old  town,  not  perhaps  overlooked 
by  other  writers,  but  having  to  the  author  a  deeper 
interest,  which  he  trusts  may  be  shared  by  other 
descendants  of  the  lovers  of  the  people  of  the 
planting  days. 

The  storehouse  of  Lynn's  historic  treasures  is  so 
well  filled,  and  the  explorers  in  the  hidden  lore  are 
so  few,  that  I  am  confident  that  no  one's  preserves 
will  be  trenched  upon  in  these  slenderly  connected 
gleanings. 

A  few  instances  of  double  dating  will  be  noticed. 
The  chronology  followed  is  that  of  the  records,  which 
is  old  style  to  September  13,  1752,  inclusive.  The 
change  from  old  style  to  new  style  is  so  generally 
known  that  no  further  explanation  is  required. 

This  is  only  a  slight  fragment  of  the  work  prom- 
ised, a  part  of  which  I  trust  yet  to  execute,  but 
it  has  seemed  expedient  to  put  this  much  in  con- 
venient type. 

N.  M.  H. 
LYNN,  MASSACHUSETTS, 

November  1,  1906. 


FOREWORD 


I  GLADLY  accept  the  responsibility  of  having  urged 
the  bringing  of  these  papers  and  addresses  into 
a  volume  by  themselves.  They  well  deserve  this  en- 
during form,  and  will  win  their  place  both  as  history 
and  literature.  In  them  has  been  garnered  the  fruit 
of  years  of  intelligent  and  sympathetic  study.  Their 
style  is  as  delightful  as  it  is  characteristic  of  their 
author. 

But  to  every  lover  of  old  Lynn  these  sketches  and 
addresses  will  have  a  charm  and  value  distinctly  their 
own.  For,  more  than  history  or  literature,  they  are 
the  offspring  of  the  author's  pious  affection  for  the 
place  of  his  birth,  for  its  fathers  and  founders,  and 
for  those  days  when  the  men  of  Lynn  were  men  of 
Massachusetts  Bay.  Nor  has  this  affection  blinded 
him.  On  the  contrary  it  has  inspired  and  led  him  to 
a  deeper  knowledge  of  earlier  New  England,  and  to  a 
clearer  insight  into  its  character,  its  standards  of  con- 
duct and  endeavor.  Through  that  intuition  which 
is  born  only  of  the  truest  sympathy,  our  author 
so  well  understands  the  men  of  by-gone  genera- 
tions, that  they  have  moulded  his  inmost  thought, 
and  the  reader  will  sometimes  feel  that  they  are 
themselves  addressing  him.  But  our  author  not  only 
comprehends  these  men ;  he  knows  where  they  lived 


FOREWORD 

and  how.  He  traces  their  family  relations  and  makes 
us  feel  that  "there  is  love  and  courtship  and  eager 
life  and  high  devotion  up  and  down  all  the  lines  of 
every  genealogy."  He  helps  us  connect  the  simple 
annals  of  early  Lynn  with  the  wider  interests  first  of 
the  colonies  and  at  length  of  the  nation. 

President  Woodrow  Wilson  has  well  said:  "A  spot 
of  local  history  is  like  an  inn  upon  a  highway;  it  is  a 
stage  upon  a  far  journey;  it  is  a  place  the  national 
history  has  passed  through.  There  mankind  has 
stopped  and  lodged  by  the  way."  This  figurative 
description  expresses  with  singular  and  literal  aptness 
one  of  the  notable  relations  of  earliest  Lynn  to  the 
life  of  the  Colony.  Here  ran  the  country  highway 
connecting  the  more  important  commercial  towns, 
and  here  for  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty  years 
in  the  old  Tavern  by  Saugus  River  the  men  of  New 
England  stopped  and  lodged  by  the  way. 

But  in  that  old  Lynn  where  so  many  thus  lodged, 
the  author  of  this  volume  has  spent  a  lifetime.  Where 
others  tarried  he  has  been  constant.  He  loves  the 
olden  time  and  its  people.  They  have  been  his  fa- 
vorite theme  for  thought  and  study,  and  he  has  the 
passionate  longing  to  make  others  see  and  know  them 
even  as  they  are  seen  and  known  by  him.  And  so  it 
is  that  when  we  go  with  him  to  the  neglected  site  of 
some  old  homestead  —  wholly  forgotten  by  the  Lynn 
of  to-day  —  we  shall  see  him  stand  with  uplifted  eyes, 
as  he  recounts  its  life  drama  long  ago  enacted,  in 
which,  however  simple,  there  were  all  the  romance, 
the  joy,  and  the  tragedy  of  human  experience. 


FOREWORD 

It  is  this  more  vital  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
earlier  days  which  commands  our  attention,  notwith- 
standing all  that  may  be  said  by  those  who  believe 
that  nothing  of  value  about  the  past  can  be  gleaned 
except  from  its  written  records.  It  is  this  sort  of 
local  history  which,  by  making  days  that  are  gone 
more  sacred,  enables  us  to  divine  something  of  what 
the  future  should  be. 

It  will  be  seen  from  his  Preface  that  the  author  of 
this  volume  is  very  modest  in  estimating  the  value  of 
his  work,  but  it  is  safe  to  venture  the  prophecy  that 
the  reader  will  often  be  impressed  by  a  firm  grasp 
of  historic  facts  and  of  their  wider  relations,  and  will 
find  genuine  pleasure  in  the  quaint  originality  of  the 
author's  point  of  view.  It  will  not  be  too  much  to 
say  of  him,  as  was  said  of  another  :  "  Everything  he 
touched  he  brightened,  as  after  a  month  of  dry  weather 
the  shower  brightens  the  dusty  shrubbery  of  a  sub- 
urban villa." 

BENJAMIN  N.  JOHNSON. 

LYNN,  MASSACHUSETTS, 
December  18,  1906. 


A   PIONEER  SCENE    (WOLF   PIT) 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 
Hearths  and  Homes  of  Old  Lynn. 

PAGE 

LYNN 1 

LYNN  HOTEL .  9 

THE  ABIJAH  BOARDMAN  HOUSE 13 

OAKLANDVALE 23 

A  HOMESTEAD  BY  GRACE  OP  THE  INDIANS       ....  33 

AN  ANCIENT  HOUSE  IN  NORTH  SAUGUS        ....  45 

NOTED  NAMES  UPON  A  REVOLUTIONARY  COMMISSION      .        .  53 

THE  TARBELL  PLACE 57 

A  QUAKER  HOME  ON  THE  DOWNING  ROAD       ....  61 

NOTES  ON  AND  ABOUT  A  SAUGUS  POND         ....  73 

THE  IRON  WORKS  MANSION 79 

THE  VINEGAR  HILL  CIRCUIT .  91 

REV.  JOSEPH  ROBY  AND  His  TIMES  . 101 

THE  FLAGG-GRAY  HOUSE 109 

THE  MEETING-HOUSE  OF  THE  SECOND  CHURCH  IN  LYNN       .  Ill 

THE  MEETING-HOUSE  OF  THE  THIRD  PARISH  IN  LYNN       .  115 

THE  PURITAN  BIRTHRIGHT 119 

xiii 


CONTENTS 

PART  II. 
Studies  in  Local  History. 

PAGE 

A  CHAPTER  IN  THE  STORY  OF  THE  IRON  WORKS        .       .  129 

CAPTAIN  ROBERT  BRIDGES,  FOUNDER   OF  THE  FIRST   IRON 

WORKS  IN  AMERICA 149 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  TOWN  FROM  THE  PARISH       .        .       .  159 

COLONIAL  LAND  TITLES 179 

THE  CYCLE  DAYS  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 195 

ESSEX  FARMS  — THE  CRADLES  OF  AMERICAN  HOMES     .        .  219 

LYNNFIELD  IN  THE  REVOLUTION 245 

WHY  THE  OLD  TOWN  HOUSE  WAS  BUILT         ....  263 

JOHN  ENDICOTT  AND  THE  RED  CROSS  ENSIGN     .       .       .  281 

HIGH  ROCK 293 

PART  III. 
Individual  Sketches. 

JAMES  ROBINSON  NEWHALL 301 

CYRUS  MASON  TRACY 325 

SAMUEL  HAWKES 333 

INDEX      .  339 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

The  Elkanah  Hawkes  House Frontispiece 

A  Pioneer  Scene  (Wolf  Pit) xii 

Initial  —  Fire-place 1 

Western  Entrance  of  the  Central  Part  of  Lynn  (from  old  print)       10 

The  Abijah  Boardman  House opp.    13 

The  Elkanah  Hawkes  House  (late  view)      .        .        .         opp.    31 
The  Hitchings-Draper-Hawkes  Place        .        .        .  opp.    33 

Fishing  Rock    ..........  44 

Indian  Rock 46 

Ezra's  Rock 52 

Revolutionary  Commission  (reproduced  from  original)   .     opp.    55 

Hawkes  Pond  from  Fuller  Hill 56 

The  Tarbell  House opp.    59 

Hawkes  Pond opp.    61 

Hannibal,  Sexton  of  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-House  .  65 

Cranberry  Meadow opp.    69 

Wayside  Rest 72 

Appleton's  Pulpit opp.    75 

The  Iron  Works  Mansion opp.    79 

Breed's  Pond 90 

Ye  Glen  Pirates  See  ye  Frigate 92 

Garrison  House  (restored) 99 

The  Roby  Elm opp.  101 

Lynn  from  Pine  Hill 108 

The  Meeting-House  of  the  Second  Church  in  Lynn 

(Lynnfield) opp.  Ill 

The  Meeting-House  of  the  Third  Parish  in  Lynn  (Saugus)  opp.  115 

Glen  Lewis  Pond  from  Mt.  Hermon 118 

Cinder  Banks,  Saugus  River opp.  129 

Hewlett's  Mill  (site  of  Gifford's  Iron  Works)         .        .     opp.  147 
The  Flagg-Gray  House  (rear  view  —  Marion  Street)          opp.  149 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-House opp.  159 

The  Lantern  Path 178 

Castle  Hill  from  Walden  Pond opp.  195 

Hart's,  in  Lynn 197 

The  Triple  Ways 218 

Sunset  on  Walden  Pond opp.  229 

The  Flagg-Gray  House opp.  237 

Walden  Pond  Road      .        .        .        .   \ 244 

Penny  Brook  Road 280 

Oceanfront  from  Highlands 292 

High  Rock,  1628 294 

High  Rock  Tower  (1905) opp.  297 

James  Robinson  Newhall opp.  301 

Cyrus  Mason  Tracy opp.  325 

Samuel  Hawkes opp.  333 

Samuel  Hawkes'  House 334 

Overlook  Crag .338 


xvi 


PART    I 
Hearths   and   Homes  of  Old    Lynn 


LYNN,    ESSEX    COUNTY, 
MASSACHUSETTS  : 


PURITAN  settlement  - 
made  less  than  ten  years 
after  the  Pilgrims  land- 
ed on  Plymouth  Rock. 
Its  sea  front,  upon 
which  beats  the  cease- 
less ebb  and  flow  of  the 
Atlantic,  is  included  in 
the  magnificent  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  one  of  the 
out-posts  of  which  Prince 
Charles,  at  Captain  John 
Smith's  request,  named 
"Cape  Ann,"  and  the 

other  was  named  by  Gosnold  "Cape  Cod."  Within 
the  Bay  it  lies  between  Salem,  the  first  seat  of  Puritan 
occupation  in  Massachusetts,  and  Boston,  the  perma- 
nent capital. 

High  Rock  stands  like  a  citadel  of  feudal  Europe, 
around  the  base  of  which  the  town  has  grown  from 
the  sea  on  the  south  to  the  woods  on  the  north. 

A  gleaming  girdle  of  hard  sand  separates  the  har- 
bor from  the  beach,  reaches  out  to  the  twin  Nahants 


Hearths  and  Homes 

-  a  little  terrestrial  paradise  —  while  the  bright  light 
upon  Egg  Rock  warns  the  mariner  that  ours  is  a  rock- 
ribbed  coast. 

The  first  white  men  known  to  have  trod  the  soil  of 
Lynn  were  Edmund  Ingalls,  Francis  Ingalls,  William 
Dixey,  John  Wood  and  William  Wood.  These  men 
were  of  Captain  John  Endicott's  Colony,  who,  as  the 
advance  guard  of  the  great  Puritan  exodus  from 
England,  landed  in  Salem,  in  1628.  These  five,  and 
perhaps  others,  strayed  over  to  Lynn,  five  miles  away, 
in  the  early  summer  of  1629.  The  organized  settle- 
ment of  Lynn  took  place  a  year  later.  In  June,  1630, 
John  Winthrop,  the  Governor,  bearing  the  Charter 
granted  by  Charles  the  First,  with  eleven  vessels  and 
over  a  thousand  immigrants,  arrived  in  Salem  Harbor. 
After  a  few  days'  tarry  at  Salem,  Winthrop  sailed  to 
what  was  soon  to  be  named  Boston  Harbor,  at  the 
mouth  of  Charles  River,  and  established  the  first  seat 
of  government  and  the  first  church  at  Charlestown. 
On  account  of  lack  of  good  water,  Winthrop,  with  a 
majority,  soon  removed  across  the  harbor  to  Shaw- 
mut,  which  they  called  Boston  in  honor  of  the  old 
English  town  of  that  name. 

When  Winthrop  landed,  it  was  the  intention  to  re- 
main together  and  begin  a  single  settlement.  This 
purpose  they  were  soon  compelled  to  abandon. 

Thomas  Dudley,  the  Deputy  Governor,  who  had 
been  a  soldier  in  the  Low  Countries  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  family  of  the  Puritan  Nobleman, 
the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  two  of  whose  daughters  were 
with  the  Colonists,  wrote  a  letter,  dated  March  28, 


of  Old  Lynn 

1631,   to  the   Countess  of  Lincoln,  relating  to  the 
settlement. 

In  it  he  says  :  "  We  were  forced  to  change  counsel, 
and  for  our  present  shelter  to  plant  dispersedly  - 
some  at  Charlestown,  which  standeth  on  the  north 
side  of  the  mouth  of  Charles  River ;  some  on  the 
south  side  thereof,  which  place  we  named  Boston  (as 
we  intended  to  have  done  the  place  we  first  resolved 
on);  some  of  us  upon  Mistick,  which  we  named  Med- 
f ord ;  some  of  us  westward  on  Charles  River,  four 
miles  from  Charlestown,  which  place  we  called  Water- 
town  ;  others  of  us  two  miles  from  Boston,  in  a  place 
we  named  Roxbury  ;  others  upon  the  river  of  Saugus, 
between  Salem  and  Charlestown ;  and  the  Western 
men  four  miles  south  from  Boston,  at  a  place  we 
named  Dorchester." 

Dudley  speaks  of  the  "River  of  Saugus,"  which  is 
an  Indian  name  and  signifies  "extended,"  suggested, 
it  is  said,  by  the  broad,  salt  marshes  that  spread  over 
a  wide  territory  upon  its  banks. 

The  Indians  applied  the  name  to  the  region  lying 
between  Boston  and  Salem ;  the  river  itself  they 
called  "  Abousett."  The  English  settlers  applied  it  to 
the  beautiful  river,  and  for  a  few  years  the  settle- 
ment itself  was  called  "Saugus." 

The  Town  of  Lynn  never  had  a  formal  incorpora- 
tion. Its  settlers  were  members  and  grantees  of  the 
Corporation  known  as  the  "Governor  and  Company 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England." 

This  Corporation,  transplanted  from  London  to 
Massachusetts,  assumed  all  powers  of  government, 

3 


Hearths  and  Homes 

and  the  participation  of  the  freemen  of  Lynn,  or 
Saugus  as  it  was  then  called,  in  the  First  General 
Court  of  the  Colony  in  1630,  was  a  recognition  of  the 
plantation,  and  gave  it  equal  standing  with  Boston, 
Salem  and  the  other  participants  in  that  first  Great 
Court  of  Massachusetts. 

In  1634,  the  number  of  freemen  had  so  increased 
that  it  became  expedient  to  send  Deputies  in  place  of 
the  whole  number. 

In  that  first  House  of  Representatives,  eight  towns, 
including  Lynn  or  Saugus,  were  represented.  The 
Lynn  members  were  Nathaniel  Turner,  Edward  Tom- 
lins  and  Thomas  Willis. 

In  1637,  the  Indian  name  of  Saugus  was  changed 
to  Lynn,  in  honor  of  Rev.  Samuel  Whiting,  the  Pastor 
who  had  formerly  officiated  at  St.  Margaret's  Church 
in  Lynn  Regis,  England. 

Colonial  Lynn  had  its  centre  of  interest  and  busi- 
ness activity,  in  1643,  on  the  banks  of  the  Saugus 
River,  at  the  head  of  tide  water,  or  about  where 
Scott's  Mills  in  Saugus  now  stand. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  river  at  this  point, 
owing  to  the  public  spirit  of  the  late  Andrew  A. 
Scott,  there  is  to  be  seen  a  grove  of  white  pines, 
which  have  had  no  equals  since  the  pioneer  axe 
began  its  havoc. 

Near  by  is  the  great  bank  of  scoria,  upon  which 
the  snows  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  bleak  winters 
have  fallen,  which  marks  the  spot  where  the  settlers 
of  Massachusetts  made  their  first  essay  in  manufac- 
turing —  the  spot  where  the  die  for  the  "  pine  tree 


of  Old  Lynn 

shilling  "  was  cast  —  the  spot  where  Jenks  made  the 
first  fire  engine  ever  seen  in  America. 

In  1639,  the  General  Court  allowed  Lynn  fifty 
pounds  towards  defraying  the  cost  of  building  a 
bridge  over  Saugus  River.  This  was  the  first  bridge 
built  in  Lynn  over  tide  water,  and  was  on  the  site 
of  the  one  which  now  marks  the  dividing  line  be- 
tween Lynn  and  Saugus.  Its  construction  materially 
shortened  the  distance  between  Boston  and  the  towns 
to  the  east,  and  soon  diverted  the  travel  to  the 
Colonial  highway,  now  known  as  Boston  Street,  our 
most  famous  historic  road. 

Over  this  road,  from  Cambridge  to  Newburyport, 
on  the  llth  of  September,  1775,  Benedict  Arnold  led 
the  army  which  General  Washington  dispatched  for 
the  conquest  of  Quebec.  This  expedition,  through 
the  unbroken  wilds  of  Maine  and  Canada,  was  the 
most  wonderful,  chivalric  and  quixotic  event  of  the 
Revolutionary  War.  Had  it  been  a  success,  what  a 
change  would  have  been  made  in  our  history. 
North  America  would  have  been  wholly  American 
instead  of  one-half  remaining  English.  Arnold 
might  have  been  the  pivotal  hero  of  our  race,  instead 
of  the  world's  champion  traitor. 

Over  this  road,  President  George  Washington 
traveled  in  his  memorable  journey  from  New  York  to 
Portsmouth,  in  1789 ;  and  over  this  road,  Washing- 
ton's friend,  the  gallant  Frenchman,  La  Fayette,  was 
escorted  beneath  floral  arches  in  1824.  By  this  road, 
the  Essex  Minute  Men  marched  at  the  Lexington 
alarm,  April  19,  1775,  to  death  and  to  undying  fame. 


Hearths  and  Homes 

The  beginning  of  the  present  century  was  a  time 
of  turnpike  building  in  Massachusetts.  These  turn- 
pike roads  changed  the  centres  of  business  activity  in 
towns.  Thus  the  opening  of  the  Salem  Turnpike 
through  Lynn,  September  22,  1803,  made  Market 
Square,  and  Lynn  Hotel,  with  its  great  stage  coach- 
ing business,  the  scene  of  travel,  in  place  of  the  old 
Boston  road. 

The  first  postmasters  had  been  located  on  Boston 
Street.  In  1808,  Jonathan  Bacheller  became  post- 
master, and  kept  the  office  in  his  building,  still  stand- 
ing1 west  of  the  old  burying  ground,  opposite  the 
Lynn  Hotel.  For  twenty  years,  he  distributed  the 
mails  from  this  location. 

On  the  28th  of  August,  1838,  the  Eastern  Railroad 
was  opened  for  public  travel  through  Lynn.  Imme- 
diately the  stage-coaching  days  were  ended,  and  post- 
office  and  business  moved  east  towards  the  railroad. 

The  moving  of  the  post-office  used  to  be  an  index 
to  the  fluctuations  of  business.  It  will  be  so  no 
longer,  as  what  President  Cleveland  called  a  "  Federal 
decoration  "  has  become  an  accomplished  fact,  and  all 
branches  of  the  public  service  now  are  conducted 
under  the  roof  of  the  United  States  building. 

This  leads  to  a  word  upon  our  architecture. 

Prior  to  the  war  of  1861,  women's  shoes  —  the 
staple  industry  of  Lynn  —  had  been  made  by  hand,  in 
little  shops,  about  twelve  feet  square,  scattered  over 
the  town  in  the  yards  connected  with  the  dwellings. 

1  Since  pulled  down  to  make  room  for  modern  flats. 

6 


of  Old  Lynn 

From  1861  to  1867,  the  business  was  revolutionized 
by  machinery.  This  assembled  workmen  in  fac- 
tories, and  with  the  passing  away  of  the  little  shoe 
shops  and  the  incoming  of  great  factory  buildings, 
came  more  ornate  public  and  private  structures. 

The  municipality  set  the  example.  The  City  Hall 
was  dedicated  November  30,  1867,  and  the  people 
quickly  responded  in  the  erection  of  numerous  costly 
and  ornamental  structures,  the  latest  of  which  is  the 
long-needed  Public  Library  building. 

Lynn  has  lost  much  of  its  early  acreage  by  the 
process  of  setting  off  new  towns.  It  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  Puritan  age  was  an  age  of  Parishes ; 
that  is,  the  Parish  made  the  Town,  and  not  the  Town 
the  Parish. 

The  first  offspring  of  the  parent  town  was  Reading, 
where  a  parish  had  been  gathered  in  1644.  Another 
parish  completed  its  organization  in  1720,  and,  exist- 
ing as  the  District  of  Lynnfield  for  nearly  a  century, 
became  the  Town  of  Lynnfield  in  1814.  The  West, 
or  Saugus  Parish,  became  an  Ecclesiastical  District 
in  1738,  and  the  Town  of  Saugus  in  1815,  thus  pre- 
serving the  original  name.  Though  the  age  of 
parishes  had  given  way  to  the  age  of  politics  when 
Swampscott  was  set  off,  yet  the  establishment  of  the 
Swampscott  Parish  in  1846,  was  followed  by  the 
Charter  of  the  Town  of  Swampscott  in  1852,  and 
the  next  year,  1853,  Nahant,  without  ecclesiastical 
or  any  other  adequate  excuse,  became  by  fiat  of  the 
Great  and  General  Court  a  town. 

While  we  have  lost  territory,  these  towns  have 


Hearths  and  Homes 

prospered  under  the  good,  old-fashioned  Town  Meet- 
ings, which  are  in  closer  touch  with  the  tax  payers 
than  it  is  possible  for  City  Governments  to  be,  and 
we  have  had  the  benefit  of  their  beaches,  roads, 
views  and  suburban  restfulness,  which  are  a  relief 
from  urban  noise  and  utilitarian  push. 

Lynn  has  done  its  full  share  in  all  the  crises  of  our 
history.  Its  minister,  Jeremiah  Shepard,  led  the 
people  who  deposed  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  in  1689. 
Rev.  John  Treadwell  was  of  the  Committee  of  Safety 
after  the  Lexington  Alarm  in  1775.  In  the  Indian 
Wars,  at  Louisburg,  Lexington,  Bunker  Hill,  and  in 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  Lynn  men  were  at  the 
front. 

At  the  start  an  agricultural  community,  Lynn 
early  became  and  easily  held  the  leading  place  as  a 
shoe  manufacturing  centre ;  of  late  it  has  become  a 
hive  of  the  General  Electric  Company's  industry. 
Its  material  progress  has  been  steady,  and  it  has  long 
held  the  position  of  the  largest  city  in  the  United 
States,  east  of  Boston. 


LYNN   HOTEL. 


N  THE  year  1839,  John  Warner  Barber,  the 
author  of  many  similar  works,  published  at 
Worcester  a  volume,  the  title  of  which  in  brief 

was  :— 

HISTORICAL   COLLECTIONS, 

BEING    A 

GENERAL  COLLECTION  OF  INTERESTING  FACTS,  TRADITIONS, 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  ANECDOTES,  ETC., 

RELATING    TO   THE 

HISTORY  AND  ANTIQUITIES 

OF 

EVERY  TOWN  IN  MASSACHUSETTS, 

WITH     . 

GEOGRAPHICAL  DESCRIPTIONS. 

Illustrated  by  200  Engravings. 

One  of  the  illustrations  was  a  Lynn  view.  It  was 
a  rude  wood  cut.  Under  it  was  the  legend,  Western 
Entrance  of  the  Central  Part  of  Lynn. 

On  the  following  page  we  have  reproduced  this 
sketch  in  half-tone.  It  is  a  striking  reminder  of  the 
shifting  scenes  of  Lynn's  activities.  The  central 
building  is  the  famous  old  coaching  station,  and  Inn 
of  the  Salem  Turnpike  Corporation,  at  West  Lynn. 

At  the  left  side  of  the  sketch,  in  the  foreground, 
may  be  seen  hitching-posts  for  the  use  of  the  patrons 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  the  noted  "West  India  Goods"  store  of  Caleb 
Wiley,  at  the  south-westerly  corner  of  Federal  Street 
and  the  Salem  Turnpike,  now  Western  Avenue. 

Across  Federal  Street,  where  now  stands  the  brick 
factory  building  occupied  by  Weber  Leather  Com- 
pany, appears  a  corner  of  the  old  Tufts  house,  owned 
by  David  Tufts,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  later  oc- 
cupied by  Deacon  Richard  Tufts,  and  the  house 
where  his  son,  Col.  Gardiner  Tufts,  was  born. 


Deacon  Tufts  and  Mr.  Wiley,  with  only  a  pump 
and  a  street  between  them,  on  the  "  Medford  rum " 
question  were  as  far  apart  as  the  north  and  south 
poles. 

The  dark  three-story  brick  building,  in  the  left  dis- 
tance, was  called  the  Josiah  Clough  building,  which 
outlived  its  usefulness  years  ago,  when  it  was  demol- 
ished at  the  widening  of  Centre  Street.  Upon  its 

10 


of  Old  Lynn 

diminished  site,  after  its  travels,  the  Old  Lynn  Acad- 
emy now  stands,  and  shelters  Ex-Mayor  Baird's 
painting  materials. 

The  year  before  Barber's  Book  was  published,  the 
Eastern  Railroad  was  opened  for  travel  through 
Lynn  (August  28,  1838).  Hence  the  bustling  stage 
coaches,  which  had  heretofore  been  the  bright 
feature  of  the  scene,  had  gone  to  return  no  more 
forever. 

The  vehicle  in  the  right  foreground  is  of  the  kind 
known  soon  after  as  "  prairie  schooners,"  which,  with 
the  family  and  household  goods,  ploughed  their  way 
across  the  continent  to  conquer  and  populate  the 
Empire  of  the  West  and  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Beyond  the  canvas-covered  travelling  home  is 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  inclosure  of  the  early  bury- 
ing-ground  of  the  Parish  of  Whiting,  Gobbet  and 
Shepard. 

The  brick  buildings  on  the  right  are  those  of  David 
Taylor  and  Chase  &  Huse,  then  recently  erected. 

Still  further,  over  the  Common,  appears  the  tower 
of  the  First  Church,  over  which  Rev.  Dr.  Parsons 
Cooke  had  been  settled  for  three  years. 

At  the  extreme  end  of  the  Common  the  steeple  of 
the  Methodist  Church,  which  Dr.  Cooke  did  not  love 
very  much,  appears. 

The  marvels,  the  glories,  the  charms,  the  guests 
and  the  legends  of  the  old  Tavern  of  the  last  century 
have  captivated  the  pens  and  imaginations  of  our 
Press  and  History  writers. 

We  will  not  enter  at  this  time  the  portals  of  the 

11 


Hearths  and  Homes 

old  hostelry,  but  simply  save  the  exterior  for  pos- 
terity. The  view  was  taken  at  the  period  of  greatest 
depression  the  West  End  has  ever  known.  Its 
Bank  —  the  Nahant  —  located  in  what  is  now  "  The 
Home  for  Aged  Women,"  had  failed  in  1836.  Henry 
A.  Breed,  the  versatile  but  unfortunate  developing 
genius  of  the  section,  had  succumbed  to  the  panic. 
The  railroad  had  banished  the  stage  coach.  It  really 
looked  as  if  the  Tavern  and  the  Burying-ground 
would  peacefully  abide  by  each  other. 

Later  came  banks  and  business  back  to  the  Market 
Place  of  the  Fathers,  and  now  the  busy  hive  of  the 
General  Electric  Company  makes  it  the  centre  of  a 
new  and  great  community. 


12 


THE  ABIJAH   BOARDMAN   HOUSE. 


THE  very  western  confines  of  Saugus,  al- 
most upon  the  Melrose  border,  stands  the  best 
preserved  specimen  of  the  projecting  upper 
story,  Colonial  house  yet  in  existence  in  the  old  town. 
Its  location  and  its  peculiar  features  are  known,  not 
only  to  the  traveler  but  to  the  reader,  by  the  photo- 
graphic studies  that  have  been  made  of  it  under  the 
name  given  to  this  sketch.  The  place,  however,  has  an 
interest  extending  far  back  of  the  Boardman  occupa- 
tion, long  continuing  and  interesting  as  that  has  been. 
Counties  and  towns  long  played  the  old-time  game 
of  battledoor  and  shuttlecock  with  this  quiet  manor 
house.  It  has  been  in  two  counties,  Suffolk  and 
Essex,  and  in  at  least  four  towns,  Boston,  Lynn, 
Chelsea  and  Saugus.  It  was  built  when  the  boundary 
lines  of  the  new  towns  were  a  trifle  uncertain.  Then 
it  was  determined  that  it  was  partly  in  Boston,  which 
ran  a  long  arm  out  into  the  country,  as  far  as  Read- 
ing and  partly  in  Lynn.  Perhaps  the  house  itself 
made  a  good  point  to  call  a  bound  mark.  It  certainly 
has  survived  the  heap  of  stones  and  white  and  black 
oak  trees  so  freely  used  as  bounds. 

The  occasion  of  its  getting  out  of  the  Capital  was  in 
this  wise  :  The  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  Boston,  in 
the  district  called  Winnisimmet,  Rumney  Marsh  and 

13 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Pullin  Point,  represented  to  the  General  Court  that 
"  they  laboured  under  great  difficulties  by  reason  of 
their  remoteness  from  the  body  of  said  town,  and 
separated  by  the  river,  that  renders  their  attendance 
upon  town  meetings  very  difficult ;  and  have  a  long 
time  since  erected  a  meeting-house  for  the  publick 
worship  of  God,  in  that  district,"  and  prayed  to  be 
set  off  as  a  separate  town  —  reasons  patriotic  and 
religious,  and  more  reasonable  than  the  modern  tax 
dodgers'  arguments  for  dismembering  ancient  towns. 
The  General  Court  responded  favorably,  and  the  Act, 
incorporating  Chelsea,  passed  January  10,  1738-9. 
A  part  of  the  bound  lines  given  in  the  Act  may  be  of 
interest  in  this  connection. 

.  .  .  from  thence  to  a  crotched  tree,  marked  B. 
L.,  in  the  wall  between  Cheever's  and  Boardman's 
land,  and  so  the  line  runs  across  a  small  rivulet,  and 
to  the  door  of  the  house  of  the  said  Boardman's, 
which  is  marked  B.  L.,  and  so  through  the  stack  of 
chimn  [ie]  [ey]  s  in  said  house,  from  thence,  across  a 
small  brook,  to  a  stump  of  a  walnut  tree,  with  a  heap 
of  stones  in  said  Boardman's  field  ;  from  thence  to  a 
walnut  tree  marked  B.  L.,  on  the  south  side  of  an  hill 
near  Felt's  house ;  from  thence  to  a  rock,  with  a 
heap  of  stones  in  land,  called  the  six-hundred-acre 
right. 

This  imaginary  line  ran  through  the  front  door 
and  through  the  chimney  till  early  in  the  present 
century.  To  a  debtor  who  sought  to  avoid  service  of 
writs,  or  to  a  criminal  who  would  escape  arrest,  it 
might  have  been  convenient  for  its  owner  to  have 

14 


of  Old  Lynn 

been  able  to  elect  his  domicile  in  either  county  with- 
out going  out  of  doors.  But  the  forehanded  tenants 
of  the  Boardman  house  were  not  in  such  a  category. 
They  found  disadvantages  in  the  doubled  civil  duties 
and  responsibilities. 

Abijah  Boardman  experienced  the  inconvenience 
of  being  spread  out  over  two  counties,  so  he  petitioned 
the  General  Court,  that  the  line  dividing  the  towns 
of  Lynn,  in  the  County  of  Essex,  and  Chelsea,  in  the 
County  of  Suffolk,  might  be  so  altered  as  to  include 
his  dwelling-house  and  the  land  under  the  same 
wholly  in  the  Town  of  Chelsea.  A  special  Act,  grant- 
ing the  prayer,  became  law  June  21,  1803.  And 
thereafter,  in  the  language  of  the  Statute,  said  house 
possessed  all  the  privileges  and  rights  which  the 
other  houses  in  said  Chelsea  possessed.  Probably  the 
most  prized  privilege  was  an  exemption  from  the  an- 
nual visit  of  the  Lynn  assessors. 

But  in  spite  of  all  Mr.  Boardman's  efforts,  the  old 
house  was  not  to  remain  attached  to  the  ancient 
Rumney  Marsh  town,  for  February  22,  1841,  the 
General  Court  passed  another  special  Act  to  set  off  a 
part  of  Chelsea  to  Saugus.  The  West  Parish  of  Lynn 
had  in  the  meantime  become  a  Town  under  the 
original  name  of  Saugus.  The  part  thus  set  off  was 
a  narrow  wedge  that  lay  between  the  western  line  of 
Saugus  and  the  eastern  line  of  Maiden,  now  Melrose. 
It  included  the  Boardman  farm.  So  back  into  Essex 
and  Saugus  came  the  Boardman  homestead  and  its 
belongings,  there  to  remain  till  some  new  legislative 
whim  gives  it  another  toss. 

15 


Hearths  and  Homes 

In  organizing  the  Puritan  Colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  its  wise  founders  sent  out  with  the  planters  the 
requisite  proportion  of  tradesmen  and  artisans,  such 
as  blacksmiths,  weavers,  masons  and  carpenters. 
Among  these  was  Samuel  Bennet,  carpenter.  On 
the  original  grant  of  lands  in  Lynn  he  received  a 
share  and  located  on  this  spot.  With  the  shrewdness, 
which  was  characteristic  among  the  first  settlers,  he 
selected  for  the  site  of  his  house  a  moderate  eleva- 
tion, just  west  of  a  running  rivulet,  which  came 
down  from  Castle  Hill  to  water  his  "  horned  cattle," 
and  to  meet  at  the  declivity,  south  of  the  house,  an- 
other little  stream  that  kept  green  and  fertile  his 
meadows.  That  he  was  energetic  and  driving,  the 
yellow  records  of  the  courts  reveal.  Bennet  was  a 
man  of  the  mould  required  in  the  planting  of  a 
Colony  in  the  wilderness.  He  was  full  of  resources, 
thrifty,  adventurous  and  sharp.  In  1639,  he  was  en- 
rolled in  the  ranks  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company.  He  made  numerous  conveyances 
to  men  of  mark  in  the  new  plantation.  One  of  these 
parties  was  Thomas  Marshall,  who,  after  serving  the 
English  Commonwealth  as  a  Captain  in  Oliver's 
Army,  returned  to  Saugus,  and  became  landlord  of 
the  famous  old  Anchor  Tavern,  where  for  more  than 
forty  years  he  entertained  the  traveling  public  with 
the  lavish  hospitality  of  "  a  fine  old  English  gentle- 
man." He  had  intimate  business  and  social  relations 
with  Joseph  Jenks,  never  to  be  forgotten  as  the  first 
founder  "  who  worked  in  brass  and  iron "  on  the 
Western  Continent. 

16 


of  Old  Lynn 

Mr.  Bennet  had  one  grievous  fault  for  that  age, 
which  we  in  these  degenerate  days  would  deem  a 
venial  sin.  In  1644,  the  Grand  Jury  found  a  true 
bill  against  him  as  a  "common  sleeper  in  time  of 
exercise,"  for  which  he  was  fined  2s.  6d.  The  more 
active  a  man's  brain  and  body  had  been  through  the 
week,  the  more  surely  would  both  relax  and  yield  to 
the  drowsy  god  during  the  long  drawn  out  and 
monotonous  exercises  of  the  Puritan  Sunday.  What 
was  a  rank  offence  with  the  elders  then  seems  to  us 
rather  an  evidence  of  the  man's  activity  in  the  six 
days  of  labor,  an  attempted  compliance  with  pre- 
scribed forms,  while  Nature  unconsciously  obeyed  the 
Higher  Law  that  commanded  rest  on  the  Seventh 
day. 

As  an  indication  of  Mr.  Bennet's  secular  activity, 
a  deposition,  taken  in  a  suit  which  he  had  brought 
against  the  Iron  Works  Company  for  £400  for  labor, 
is  given  from  the  Salem  Quarterly  Court  files  (June 
27,  1671). 


"John  Paule,  aged  about  forty-five  years,  sworne, 
saith  that  living  with  Mr.  Samuel  Bennett,  upon  or 
about  the  time  that  the  Iron  Works  were  seized  by 
Capt.  Savage,  in  the  year  53  as  I  take  it,  for  I  lived 
ther,  several  years,  and  my  constant  imployment  was 
to  repaire  carts,  coale  carts,  mine  carts,  and  other 
working  materials  for  his  teenies,  for  he  keept  4  or  5 
teenies,  and  sometimes  6  teenies,  and  he  had  the 
most  teenies  the  last  yeare  of  the  Iron  Works,  when 
they  were  seased,  and  my  master  Bennett  did  yearly 
yearme  a  vast  sum  from  said  Iron  Works,  for  he 

17 


Hearths  and  Homes 

commonly  yearmed  forty  or  fifty  shillings  a  daye  for 
the  former  time,  and  the  year  53  as  aforesaid,  for  he 
had  five  or  six  teenies  goeing  generally  every  faire 
day." 


Bennet  describes  himself  in  his  later  conveyances 
as  of  "Romney  Marsh,  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Town  of  Boston." 

The  Boardman  who  lived  in  the  house  when  the 
line  ran  through  it,  in  1738-39,  was  William.  Its  next 
owner  was  his  son,  Aaron,  to  whom  he  conveyed  it 
January  9,  1753. 

In  this  deed,  which  was  drawn  by  the  noted  magis- 
trate of  that  time,  Daniel  Mansfield,  Esquire,  was 
included  along  with  the  farm  something  which  is 
not  now  called  real  estate.  After  the  description  of 
the  land  follow  these  words,  "  together  with  a  negro 
man  named  Mark." 

In  1762,  Thomas  Cheever,  next  neighbor  of  Board- 
man, made  a  mortgage  of  his  farm  to  secure  John 
and  Aaron  Boardman,  who  had  become  his  sureties 
upon  a  bond,  a  condition  of  which  was  that  he  was  to 
pay  a  party  in  Salem  "four  hundred  good  Spanish 
milled  dollars  of  full  weight."  Spanish  dollars  be- 
fore the  Revolution  were  a  legal  tender  and  in  great 
demand  in  the  Colonies.  Spain  enslaved  the  natives 
of  Mexico  and  Peru  and  compelled  them  to  extract 
the  silver  ore  from  their  mines  for  the  enrichment  of 
the  mother  country.  Then  the  bold  and  gallant 
English  adventurers  made  an  easy  pretext  for  war 
when  a  rich  treasure  fleet  was  on  its  way  across  the 

18 


of  Old  Lynn 

Atlantic  and  captured  the  great  galleons,  and  the 
intercepted  treasure  found  its  way  into  the  coffers  of 
English  merchants.  They  in  turn  exchanged  it  with 
the  New  England  Colonists  for  masts  for  the  royal 
navy,  and  for  cod-fish  for  their  own  tables.  The  coin 
was  pure  and  so  popular,  and  the  less  said  about  the 
method  of  obtaining  it  the  better.  Hence  the  yeo- 
man of  Saugus  made  his  trade  with  the  effigy  of  the 
King  of  Spain  stamped  upon  metal  wrought  by 
slaves,  and  bravely  converted  by  English  rovers  into 
honest  money. 

Aaron  occupied  it  when  the  Minute  Men  of  Massa- 
chusetts withstood  the  veteran  regulars  on  Bunker 
Hill  ;  when  Benedict  Arnold  marched  through  Sau- 
gus, in  that  picturesque,  daring  and  tragical  expedi- 
tion which  General  Washington  ordered  for  the 
capture  of  Quebec  —  while  the  weary  years  of 
despondency  were  passing  till  the  glad  news  reached 
even  this  secluded  nook,  that  Cornwallis  had  sur- 
rendered at  Yorktown,  and  all  men  saw  clearly  that 
the  political  ties  which  had  galled  the  settlers  were 
severed,  and  that  a  new  Transatlantic  England,  which 
the  fathers  had  dreamed  of,  had  become  a  reality. 
Then  came  Aaron's  son,  Abijah.  The  occupants  of  the 
house  even  now  are  of  the  Boardman  stock,  as  Mrs. 
Howard  and  Miss  Sarah  Boardman,1  daughters  of 
Abijah,  are  there,  passing  lives  characteristic  of  and 
befitting  a  homestead  that  is  not  vexed  with  alien 
tenants  —  which  has  only  to  welcome  the  young 


since  deceased.     The  house  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
their  nephew,  Elmer  Boardman  Newhall. 

19 


Hearths  and  Homes 

and  mourn  the  departure  of  the  aged  of  a  familiar 
family. 

So  far  as  it  is  possible  for  the  blending  of  landscape 
and  human  habitation  to  stand  for  a  mental  condition, 
this  place  has  all  the  cool,  calm  attributes  of  serenity. 
It  looks  as  if  the  world  and  its  passing  show  had 
never  been  heeded  by  it.  It  just  stands  there  with 
never  a  thought  of  time,  never  a  fear  for  the  future. 
Yet  there  lies  danger  in  its  path,  for  the  house- 
wrights  of  bustling  Melrose  are  already  crowding 
along  Howard  Street,  towards  these  careless  fields  of 
daisies  and  clover  that  fringe  and  beautify  the  old 
landmark.  Some  houses,  like  some  people,  boast  of 
beauty  and  strength  by  outside  boldness.  This  one 
is  built  massively,  but  its  impressive  sturdiness  is 
only  seen  in  the  interior,  whose  chamfered  American 
oak  timbers  put  to  the  blush  the  skill  of  modern  artifi- 
cers in  wood.  No  drill  holes  are  seen  in  the  rocks 
that  constitute  its  cellar  walls.  These  stones  are  in 
the  shape  in  which  they  were  drawn  from  the  farm 
by  the  plodding  oxen,  guided  by  the  dexterous  hand 
that  long  ago  lost  its  cunning.  Time,  that  treats 
mortals  so  harshly,  often  has  a  tender  touch  and  a 
shielding  care  for  the  abodes  hallowed  by  recollec- 
tions of  the  swift  coming  and  going  generations  of 
men.  How  impassive  this  house  seemed  a  moment 
since  —  now  the  smoke  curls  upward  in  dusky  puffs 
towards  the  blue  sky,  and  instantly  the  good  old  pas- 
toral life  comes  before  the  eye.  The  housewife  is 
busy  within,  preparing  the  stated  mid-day  meal.  The 
yeoman,  in  response  to  the  signal,  draws  near  the 

20 


of  Old  Lynn 

spacious  barn,  with  his  load  of  sweet-smelling  tim- 
othy and  red-top  grass.  The  rest  of  the  picture  will 
be  readily  sketched  by  those  whose  happy  fortune  it 
was  to  be  in  touch  with  rural  scenes  in  the  plastic 
days  of  youth. 

So  uncorrupted  by  the  fever  of  modern  ways  is  this 
place  that  the  dear  old  clumsy  oaken  bucket,  familiar 
in  song,  is  still  splashed  into  the  planter's  well,  and 
hoisted  by  the  creaking  well-sweep  supported  by  the 
long  pole.  Can  anything  else  ever  taste  and  re- 
fresh like  that  nectar,  greedily  drunk,  poised  on  the 
curb,  from 

"The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron  bound  bucket, 
The  moss  covered  bucket  that  hung  in  the  well  "  ? 

The  question  is  often  asked  whether  the  peculiar 
shape  of  those  rare  and  historic  Colonial  houses  in- 
dicates that  they  were  built  for  defensive  purposes 
against  the  Indians.  They  were  certainly  not  in- 
tended as  garrison  houses.  They  were  erected  along 
the  earlier  settled  coast  line,  from  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  to  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  The  Indian 
trails  of  attack  were  always  from  the  inland  woods 
and  were  warded  off  before  they  reached  the  locali- 
ties where  these  houses  were  planted.  The  project- 
ing upper  story  indicates  that  it  was  built  by  a  well- 
to-do  Englishman,  in  the  second  half  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  from  architectural  designs  which 
were  familiar  to  him  at  home.  It  was  simply  a  loyal 
imitation  of  wonted  forms  by  the  commercial  Puritan 
when  he  set  up  his  tabernacle  in  the  newer,  freer 
England  which  he  was  founding. 

21 


Hearths  and  Homes 

American  demagogues,  in  the  demand  for  newly- 
made  Irish  votes,  pretend  to  dislike  England,  but 
underlying  this  the  true  American  has  all  along 
imitated  and  reverenced  his  Mother  England,  and 
though,  like  all  Youth,  he  thinks  he  has  outstripped 
her  in  many  lines  of  progress,  he  still  has  love  and 
deference  for  English  ideas  and  habits.  Hence  the 
traveler,  passing  the  parvenue  villas  of  Melrose,  is 
rested  and  impressed  with  a  sense  of  homelikeness 
when  he  reaches  this  gateway,  which  bears  so  many 
reminders  of  leafy,  rural  England. 

Anglophobists  sneer  at  such  things,  but  these  feel- 
ings are  evidences  of  the  existence  in  men  of  the 
better  and  purer  instincts.  The  hungry  child  yearns 
for  its  mother's  breast.  The  boy  unconsciously  walks 
in  his  father's  ways.  The  man,  when  he  gets  over 
the  rough  hill  of  life's  voyage,  and  is  upon  the  shores 
of  the  unseen  future,  looks  back  with  glistening  eyes 
upon  rude,  but  loved  scenes,  unheeded  when  he  was 
toiling  upward,  but  now  so  full  of  reminiscences  of 
life's  morning.  Perhaps,  and  indeed  often,  the  old 
homestead  is  looked  upon  with  tenderer  feelings  in 
the  afterglow  of  life's  sunset  than  when  the  eastern 
sun  gilds  the  distant  hill  tops.  These  longings  for 
the  old  home  grow  with  years,  and  the  roots  reach 
out,  not  only  towards  one's  own  birthplace,  but  far 
away  to  the  cradle  of  his  race,  the  land  of  his  stock. 
The  poet  Campbell  voices  what  many  feel  without 
comprehending : 

"  'Tis  the  sunset  of  life  gives  me  mystical  lore, 
And  coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before. ' ' 

22 


OAKLANDVALE. 


"  Here  are  trees,  and  bright  green  grass,  and  orchards 
full  of  contentment ;  and  a  man  may  scarce  espy  the 
brook,  although  he  hears  it  everywhere."  —  Jan  Ridd. 


HE  schoolhouse  may  be  taken  as  a  point  of 
departure.     It  is  certainly  American  to  be- 
lieve that  no  better  place  can  be  found  to 
start  from  than  the  public  school. 

The  Oaklandvale  schoolhouse  stands  upon  the  south 
side  of  Main  Street.  Running  northerly  from  it  is 
Forest  Street,  laid  out  by  the  town  of  Lynn,  June  21, 
1763.  Main  Street,  or  the  old  way  from  Lynn  to 
Reading,  runs  westerly.  The  two  form  the  eastern 
and  southern  lines  of  the  estate,  which  gave  the 
name  Oaklandvale  to  the  western  ward,  or  school 
district,  of  Saugus.  In  fact,  the  school  and  the  name 
were  concurrent.  And  each  came  about  by  a  change 
of  land  title,  in  1848.  When  the  proposition  to  build 
this  schoolhouse  was  before  the  town  meeting,  a  sort 
of  omnibus  bill  —  or,  as  they  call  it  in  Congress,  a 
log-rolling  scheme,  to  secure  support  all  around  by 
giving  each  section  something  —  was  under  discussion. 
Ben  Parker,  of  the  Centre,  believing  that  it  would 
kill  the  appropriation,  of  which  he  did  not  approve, 
moved  to  increase  the  amount  for  the  Oaklandvale 
building  from  fifteen  hundred  dollars  to  twenty-two 

23 


Hearths  and  Homes 

hundred.  The  people  happened  to  be  feeling  good, 
and  the  amendment  prevailed.  Then  the  neighbors 
turned  out  and  put  in  the  foundation  walls  free.  So 
that  the  whole  appropriation  was  devoted  to  the 
building  proper,  and  the  result  was  that  the  smallest 
school  in  town  had  the  largest  schoolhouse. 

The  arable  land  hereabouts  is  largely  an  intervale 
which  forks  where  the  two  branches  of  Crystal  Brook 
meet,  just  south  of  the  Abijah  Boardman  House  —  an 
old  Colonial  mansion,  well  known  from  its  project- 
ing upper  story  upon  the  front  part  of  the  house. 
One  branch  of  this  stream  creeps  down  from  Wake- 
field  on  the  north,  on  a  general  line  with  the  road. 
The  other  fork  of  Crystal  Brook  comes  down  from  the 
highlands  of  Melrose  on  the  west.  About  where  the 
Wakefield  and  Melrose  roads  unite,  the  two  pebbly- 
bottomed  brooklets  blend  into  one,  to  flow  leisurely 
through  the  ancient  farm,  which  was  one  of  the 
earliest  spied-out  farming  valleys  of  old  Lynn. 

Man  subdues  and,  by  diligence,  restrains  the  face 
of  Nature.  When  the  first  settlers  discovered  this 
strath,  encircled  by  rocky  hills,  a  dense  forest  of  pine 
covered  its  surface.  The  brook  meandered  through 
meadows  carpeted  with  the  uncounted  pine  needles, 
over  which  the  simple  red  man  noiselessly  glided  in 
pursuit  of  game.  His  wigwam  was  ever  near  a  run- 
ning stream  —  not  always  a  water-way  that  would 
float  his  birch  bark  canoe,  but  such  a  stream  as 
fish  could  swim  in,  that  he  could  lose  his  foot-prints 
in,  if  haply  hostile  intruders  threatened. 

The  white  man  wanted  the  land  for  corn ;  he  cut 

24 


of  Old  Lynn 

away  the  forest  that  the  sun's  rays  might  kiss  the 
earth  —  that  he  might  not  be  taken  unawares  by  the 
same  hostiles.  The  Puritan  was  no  worshipper  of 
the  woods.  They  were  too  dense,  too  oppressive, 
too  full  of  shapes  of  skulking  red  men,  too  full  of 
shades  and  phantoms  of  the  new  mysterious  world, 
which  made  life  grim  and  solemn  to  him.  He  had  no 
mercy  for  the  trees.  They  were  his  slaves.  They 
ministered  to  his  wants.  They  gave  him  shelter  and 
they  furnished  him  with  fuel  for  the  long  winter. 

Hence  the  trees  were  swept  away,  and  till  about 
forty  years  ago  there  was  an  open  plain  from  the 
point  where  the  Melrose  and  Wakefield  roads  meet, 
in  a  northeastern  trend,  to  the  Saugus  River  at  the 
Newburyport  turnpike.  Within  that  time,  by  man's 
design,  a  great  change  has  been  wrought  in  the  face 
of  Nature.  Agriculture  has  ceased  to  be  a  control- 
ling motive  in  the  use  of  the  land.  The  tilling  of 
the  soil  has  taken  on  the  character  of  a  recreation  in 
the  hands  of  men,  who,  with  love  of  rural  life,  have 
found  their  principal  vocation  in  other  pursuits. 
They  have  made  farming  subsidiary,  and  have  added 
an  element  of  aesthetics  to  its  development. 

The  residence  of  Joseph  Haven,  his  childless  uncle, 
drew  Elkanah  Hawkes  to  this  locality.  Mr.  Haven 
made  his  will  March  7,  1748-9,  in  which  he  named 
his  kinsmen,  Elkanah  and  Jonathan  Hawkes,  as  his 
executors  and  residuary  legatees.  Jonathan  subse- 
quently conveyed  his  portion  of  the  estate  to  Elkanah. 
Elkanah  died  in  1777,  and  his  will  was  proved  Janu- 
ary 16,  1778.  The  will  of  Elkanah,  who  is  described 

25 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"gentleman,"  shows  what  were  the  principal  products 
of  those  times  in  the  items  of  the  careful  provision 
made  for  his  widow  while  she  should  remain  his 
widow.  Besides  the  furniture  and  a  portion  of  the 
house,  she  was  to  have  annually  "two  hundred  pounds 
of  pork,  one  hundred  pounds  of  beef,  eight  bushels 
of  Indian  corn,  four  bushels  of  rye,  eight  cords  of 
wood,  twelve  pounds  of  sheep's  wool,  twenty  pounds 
of  dressed  flax  and  twelve  bushels  of  the  same." 
Thomas,  the  eldest  son  and  executor,  had  the  custom- 
ary double  portion  of  the  real  estate,  or  in  this  case, 
two-ninth  parts.  Elkanah  and  Ezra  each  had  three- 
eighteenths.  Two  married  daughters,  Eunice  Hitch- 
ings  and  Sarah  Marret,  had  each  one-eighteenth  part. 
The  three  unmarried  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Love  and 
Grace,  each  were  to  have  one-ninth  part.  The  farm, 
after  the  settlement  of  his  estate,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  his  daughter,  Grace  Hawkes,  "spinster," 
who,  on  August  9,  1797,  conveyed  it  to  Nathan 
Hawkes,  of  the  west  parish,  and  his  son  Nathan,  Jr. 
Nathan,  Jr.,  occupied  the  house,  and  his  children 
were  born  in  the  old  house,  and  here  on  May  4,  1811, 
his  only  son,  Nathan  D.,  was  born,  and  lived  until  his 
marriage,  when  he  took  possession  of  the  Tarbell 
place,  which  had  been  the  home  of  his  mother. 

Nathan  Hawkes  owned  and  tilled  the  farm  until 
May  5,  1848,  when  he  conveyed  the  whole  estate  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  odd  acres  to  Joseph  Masury, 
Edward  W.  Saunders  and  Marshall  S.  Brooks.  Mr. 
Masury  had  a  half  interest,  Messrs.  Brooks  and 
Saunders,  who  were  partners  in  business,  the  former 

26 


of  Old  Lynn 

being  a  resident  of  Memphis,  Tennessee,  having  the 
other  half. 

The  estate  which  Messrs.  Masury,  Brooks  and 
Saunders  bought  in  1848  was  substantially  the  same 
as  that  which  Elkanah  Hawkes  had  consolidated  by 
various  purchases  from  his  relatives  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  only  slice  that  had  been 
subtracted  was  the  fourteen  acres  which  his  son 
Thomas  conveyed  to  Samuel  Boardman,  November  1, 
1780.  This  was  in  a  sense  not  an  alienation,  for  the 
wife  of  Samuel  was  a  descendant  of  the  original 
grantee  of  the  whole  tract.  Mr.  Sewall  Boardman,1 
who  now  lives  in  a  house  upon  the  Samuel  Boardman 
purchase,  is,  through  the  maternal  line,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  the  soldier  of  King  Philip's  war,  who, 
in  addition  to  his  title  by  possession,  fortified  himself 
by  an  Indian  release. 

Mr.  Saunders  took  the  southern  part  of  the  estate, 
the  street  lines  of  which  are  well  known  by  the 
massive  wall  laid  in  cement,  that  bids  fair  to  rival 
in  endurance  the  rude  walls  of  the  fathers,  which 
have  withstood  the  rigors  of  more  than  two  hundred 
years.  It  is  said  that  he  who  makes  two  blades  of 
grass  grow  where  one  grew  before  is  a  public  bene- 
factor. Mr.  Saunders  has  devoted  a  fortune  and 
forty  years  of  intelligent  human  activity  to  the 
growth  of  a  park  and  an  avenue  of  magnificent  ever- 
green trees  that  rival  the  matured  beauty  of  an 
English  estate.  Once  in  a  while  Dame  Rumor  asserts 

1  Since  deceased. 

27 


Hearths  and  Homes 

that  the  granite  rocks  which  fringe  this  strath  have 
yielded  grains  of  gold,  but  the  real  golden  metal 
found  here  these  many  years  has  been  the  transmu- 
tation of  the  elements  of  nature  into  a  rich  soil  and 
fair  climate  fit  for  man's  use  and  growth. 

West  of  Forest  Street,  on  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  Saunders  place,  is  a  curious  mound  —  an  ele- 
vation which  Nature  does  not  account  for.  Mr. 
Saunders,1  the  present  owner,  once  attempted  to  solve 
its  mystery  by  digging  into  it,  but  the  task  proved 
too  exacting,  and  the  queer,  oval-shaped  mound 
still  remains.  It  is  probably  an  ancient  burial 
place  of  the  Indians,  as  this  locality  was  one  of  their 
favorite  hunting-grounds.  It  is  within  a  rod  or  two 
of  the  babbling  Crystal  Brook,  in  the  midst  of  a 
plain  level  —  far  from  the  haunts  of  man  even  to 
this  day. 

Mr.  Masury  divided  his  portion  into  three  parts. 
Upon  a  knoll  west  of  Forest  Street  he  built  the 
modern  house,  now  better  known  as  the  Phillips 
place,  which  was  the  house  of  an  accomplished 
scholar  and  valued  counselor,  George  W.  Phillips,  of 
the  Suffolk  Bar.  Mr.  Phillips  took  an  active  part  in 
the  social  and  religious  life  of  Saugus.  He  was  long 
a  leading  member  of  the  Parish  Committee  of  the 
Congregational  Church.  He  died  here,  July  30,  1880. 
His  widow  presented  to  the  town  a  painting  of  his 
brother  Wendell,  the  silver-tongued  orator.  By  the 

1  Mr.  Saunders,  at  an  advanced  age,  retired  to  Maiden  after  dis- 
posing of  the  place  to  Mr.  Frank  P.  Bennett,  who  also  acquired 
the  Phillips  estate. 

28 


of  Old  Lynn 

way,  that  picture  looks  lonesome  on  the  otherwise 
bare,  white  walls  of  the  Saugus  Town  Hall. 

Beyond  the  Phillips  house  is  a  slight  elevation, 
covered  by  a  growth  of  native  wood,  where  the  oaks, 
ashes,  maples,  birches,  and  all  other  trees  indigenous 
to  the  climate  grow  in  absolute  freedom,  and  where 
robin  red-breast  heralds  the  coming  of  Spring  as 
surely  as  the  provident  squirrel,  running  along  yon- 
der gray  wall,  intent  upon  his  store  of  nuts,  presages 
the  advent  of  Winter. 

At  the  northern  end  of  this  little  gently-swelling 
knoll  a  shaded  lane  turns  to  the  west,  a  rustic  bridge 
spans  the  brook,  and  a  smooth  ascent  of  a  few  rods 
brings  the  traveler  to  the  center  of  interest  and  to 
the  crest  of  Oaklandvale  Plain,  or  the  "  plough  plain  " 
of  Colonial  days. 

Here  stands  the  venerable  mansion  built  by  El- 
kanah  Hawkes  in  1743.  In  the  farming  days  its 
windows  commanded  a  sweep  of  the  whole  domain. 
To-day,  stately  trees  cut  off  the  view  and  give  per- 
fect seclusion  to  the  occupants.  The  solid  oak 
summer-beam  of  this  house,  cut  upon  the  hill  near 
by,  was  elaborately  carved.  The  improvers  of  the 
house,  however,  have  concealed  it  by  plastering 
below  it.  The  same  iconoclasts  removed  from 
the  front  door  a  massive  iron  latch  surmounted 
by  an  arch,  which  bore  the  inscription,  "Com- 
pleted Nov.  17, 1743."  This  latch  was  the  handiwork 
of  the  builder  of  the  house,  who  was  a  keen  sports- 
man and  cunning  artificer  in  iron.  His  grandson, 
Thomas  Hawkes,  of  Boston,  secured  the  relic  of  his 

29 


Hearths  and  Homes 

ancestor's  skill,  and  it  may  yet  be  among  his  family 
heirlooms. 

In  the  light  of  all  history,  1743  is  not  long  ago. 
Several  important  things  were  going  on  in  the  world 
while  this  secluded  country  house  was  being  built. 
Richardson,  the  father  of  the  modern  novel,  was 
writing  "Clarissa."  His  friend  Hogarth  was  making 
his  terrible,  realistic  pictures  for  all  time,  and  the 
third  friend,  the  literary  colossus  of  the  English 
tongue,  Doctor  Sam  Johnson,  was  arrested  for  debt. 
Mr.  William  Pepperell,  of  Newburyport,  was  selling 
fish,  unconscious  of  the  destiny  that  awaited  him  - 
conqueror  of  Louisburg,  Sir  Willian  Pepperell,  first 
Baronet  of  Britain  born  on  American  soil.  Charles 
Edward,  the  Young  Pretender,  was  plotting  the  inva- 
sion of  England,  which  two  years  later  culminated  in 
the  last  grand  dash  of  Scottish  chivalry  and  the  final 
crushing  of  the  Stuart  cause.  Great  and  little  events 
transpire  side  by  side,  and  after  a  few  years  the 
actors  in  each  lie  upon  one  plane,  so  far  as  things 
earthly  are  concerned.  One  figure  is  emblazoned  on 
the  page  of  history  as  the  central  point  of  a  dis- 
credited cause,  the  other  leaves  the  memory  of  a  worthy 
husbandman,  who  simply  did  his  part  in  the  planting 
of  the  wilderness.  To  some  the  latter  is  fully  as 
deserving  of  a  place  in  our  hearts  as  the  former. 

Elkanah  was  the  second  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Hawkes. 
His  mother  was  Sarah  Haven.  His  father,  Dr. 
Thomas,  was  the  son  of  John,  called,  in  the  old 
records,  John  Senior,  who  was  the  son  of  the  pro- 
genitor of  the  Hawkes  family  in  America.  Jonathan 

30 


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of  Old  Lynn 

Hawkes,  the  first  clerk  of  the  third  parish  under  the 
charter,  was  the  elder  brother  of  Elkanah.  On  May 
14,  1742,  Elkanah  was  married  to  Eunice  Newhall  by 
Rev.  Edward  Cheever,  the  first  minister  of  the  then 
newly  organized  Saugus  Church,  which  was  the  third 
parish  of  Lynn. 

The  wild  territory  alternating  between  craggy 
ledges  and  sunny  dells,  where  golden-rod  and  asters 
bloom  unseen  of  men,  east  of  Forest  Street,  and 
north  of  Main  Street,  extending  across  the  Newbury- 
port  turnpike  to  the  banks  of  Pranker's  Pond,  was, 
till  within  the  memory  of  people  now  living,  known 
as  "  Mr.  Taylor's  farm."  The  name  was  a  vestige 
and  reminder  of  the  first  manufacturing  industry  of 
the  town.  James  Taylor  was  the  last  proprietor  of 
the  Iron  Works,  and  these  rough,  yet  beautiful,  lands 
were  an  annex  of  the  once  flourishing  enterprise, 
which  boasted  many  acres  of  the  "  Iron  Mill  lands." 
The  old  conveyances  all  call  Forest  Street  "  the  way 
by  Mr.  Taylor's  farm,"  while  Main  Street  is  "the 
road  from  Lynn  to  Reading."  The  northern  line  will 
be  forever  designated  as  the  common  lands,  locally 
known  as  "  the  six  hundred  acres  "  -  the  undisputed 
hunting  ground  of  sportsmen  and  naturalists.1 

The  uses  of  an  old  house  vary  from  generation  to 


1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  was  written  before  this  sec- 
tion of  the  common  lands  of  prosaic  Lynn  was  touched  by  magic 
hands,  and  the  visions  of  the  Arabian  Nights  of  the  far  East  were 
made  realities,  and  the  ring  and  the  lamp  of  our  Modern  Aladdins 
created  marvels  of  sparkling  ponds,  high  up  on  the  craggy  hills  of 
"  the  six  hundred  acres." 


Hearths  and  Homes 

generation,  according  to  the  moods  or  tastes  of  the 
tenants  for  the  time  being.  From  the  time  of  its 
erection,  in  1743,  till  1848,  this  Elkanah  Hawkes 
house  was  the  hub  around  which  revolved  the  indus- 
tries of  a  New  England  farm.  From  1848  down  to 
1899  it  was  a  home  about  which  many  ornamental 
(imported  and  native)  trees  grew  into  park  and  wood- 
land. Since  1899  the  park  and  woodland  have  been 
removed,  and  the  farming  interest  has  again  taken 
possession  of  the  old  mansion. 

As  a  matter  of  interest  to  a  few  at  least,  two  views 
of  the  house  are  given  —  one  during  its  rest  period, 
the  other  since  it  has  resumed  its  bucolic  environment. 

The  incident  of  taking  the  first  picture  is  related 
by  the  artist  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  :  - 

"  In  driving  on  the  afternoon  of  July  9,  1891,  from 
my  seaside  home,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  pass  an 
avenue  of  beautiful  pines ;  attracted  by  their  quiet 
loveliness,  and  curious  to  penetrate  still  further  into 
the  forest  depths,  to  which  I  imagined  they  would 
lead  me,  I  turned  my  horse  and  entered  their  refresh- 
ing shadows. 

"  While  photographing  the  brook  I  was  accosted  by 
an  elderly  gentleman,1  who  told  me  the  path  led  but  to 
his  house,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  photograph  the  same. 

"  To  the  photographs  you  are  entirely  welcome.  I 
well  know  the  pleasure  they  will  afford  you." 

The  later  view  was  taken  after  the  patriarchal 
trees  had  been  sacrificed,  at  the  demand  of  the 
market  gardener,  for  sun  and  light. 

1  Mr.  E.  Warner  Bostwick,  its  late  owner,  since  deceased. 

32 


A  HOMESTEAD  BY  GRACE  OF  THE  INDIANS. 


|N  THE  thirteenth  of  November,  1675,  by 
order  of  the  General  Court,  fifteen  men  were 
drawn  from  Lynn  for  service  in  the  cele- 
brated King  Philip's  War,  in  addition  to  those 
previously  detached.  Among  these  was  Daniel 
Hitchings.  This  is  the  first  time  his  name  appears 
in  the  printed  Annals  of  Lynn.  That  he  lived 
through  the  struggle  and  came  home  a  thrifty 
planter,  as  cunning  as  the  wily  savages  he  had 
fought,  is  manifest  by  the  fact  that  before  the  town 
had  secured  a  release  of  the  Indian  titles,  it  is 
recorded  that  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  1686, 
"James  Quanapohit  and  David  Kunkshamooshaw, 
descendants  of  Nanapashemet,  sold  a  lot  of  land  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Iron  Works  pond  to  Daniel 
Hitchings."  The  Indians,  who  gave  this  deed,  were 
the  last  of  the  race  of  the  Sagamores,  who  had  ruled 
over  the  land  before  the  pale-face  came.  They  had 
retreated  before  the  invasion  as  far  inland  as  Mistick 
and  Chelmsford.  They  still  had  a  shadowy  claim 
upon  the  soil.  Their  pedigrees  and  their  autographs 
may  be  seen  in  the  elaborate  account  in  the  History 
of  Lynn.  Sir  Edmund  Andros  came  over  as  the 
Royal  Governor  in  the  year  these  deeds  were  given, 
and  it  is  not  strange  that  when  he  saw  these  signa- 


Hearths  and  Homes 

tures  he  said  they  reminded  him  of  the  scratches 
of  a  bear's  claw.  Later  in  the  same  year,  the  au- 
thorities of  Lynn  secured  from  these  same  Indians 
a  sort  of  blanket  release  of  all  the  lands  of  Lynn  and 
Reading. 

The  present  sketch  does  not  reach  to  generals,  but 
only  has  to  do  with  the  land  of  Daniel  Hitchings. 
He  was  nearer  the  Indians  than  most  of  his  neigh- 
bors in  Lynn,  and  consequently  more  anxious  to  be 
at  peace  with  the  redskins  than  they.  It  is  to  be 
borne  in  mind  that  in  the  time  of  the  Iron  Works 
the  dam  was  several  feet  higher  than  it  is  at  present. 
The  late  Lott  Edmands,  who  was  an  authority  upon 
the  subject,  used  to  say  that  in  those  days  the  water 
must  have  flowed  as  high  as  the  sill  of  his,  then, 
residence.  This  would  have  carried  the  water  up 
the  valley  of  Crystal  Brook  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of 
a  mile.  The  boundaries  and  descriptions  of  those 
days  were  ofttime  vague,  but  this  one  admits  of  no 
doubt.  East  of  the  "  Iron  Works  pond  "  was  an  un- 
broken wilderness,  untouched  to-day.  North  of  it 
was  the  domain  of  Adam  Hawkes,  or  of  his  son  John. 
At  the  west  was  an  arable  tract  of  land,  which,  from 
generation  to  generation  —  through  the  ups  and 
downs  of  life  —  we  find  in  the  possession  of  the  suc- 
cessors of  Daniel  Hutchins,  or  Hitchins,  or  Hitchings. 

In  this  Indian  deed  it  is  called  the  Plough  Plain, 
and  it  embraced  all  that  sweep  of  intervale  from  the 
Saugus  River,  where  the  Newburyport  turnpike  now 
bounds  it  on  the  east,  through  to  the  present  Melrose. 
The  deed  may  be  seen  in  the  Essex  Registry  of  Deeds  : 

34 


of  Old  Lynn 


B.  7.  L. ! 


JAMES  RUMNEY  MARSH,  &c.,  TO  HUTCHINS. 
OCTOBR.  9,  1686. 

To  all  Christian  people  to  whom  this  present  deed  of  sale  shall 
cone,  James  Rumney  Marsh  of  Natick  and  David  Son  &  Right  heir 
of  Sagamore  Sam,  an  Indian  belonging  to  Wamesick,  in  New  Eng- 
land Send  Greeting,  Know  ye  that  ye  said  James  Rumney  Marsh 
and  David  Indians,  for  a  valuable  consideration  to  them  in  hand  att 
&  before  ye  ensealing  and  delivery  of  these  presents  by  Daniel 
Hutchins  of  Linn  in  New  England  aforesaid  well  &  truly  paid,  ye 
receipt  whereof  they  do  hereby  acknowledge  and  themselves  there- 
with fully  satisfied  and  contented  and  thereof  &  of  every  part 
thereof  do  acquit,  exonerate  and  discharge  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin 
Senr.  his  hiers,  executors,  administrators  and  assignes  forever  by 
these  presents,  have  given  granted  bargained  sold  aliened  enfeoffed 
and  confirmed  and  by  these  psents,  Do  fully  freely  clearly  & 
absolutely  give  grant  bargain  sell  alien,  enfeoff  and  confirm  unto 
him  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin  Senr.  his  hiers  and  assignes  forever  all 
that  their  tract  or  parcell  of  land,  lying  &  being  partly  within  ye 
township  of  Linn  and  partly  within  ye  Township  of  Boston  being 
butted  and  bounded  on  west  westerly  by  ye  land  of  ye  late  Capt. 
Thomas  Brattle  deceased  north  with  ye  Hills  bounding  yt.  part 
Commonly  caled  &  knowne  by  ye  name  of  ye  Plough  plain  running 
up  to  a  marked  tree  att  ye  corner  on  ye  north  or  northeast  side  and 
by  ye  high  ledg  of  rocks  whereon  severall  pitch  pine  trees  do  stand 
&  from  thence  to  Sawgust  River  formerly  caled  Iron  Works  pond 
and  on  ye  easterly  end  by  ye  land  now  in  ye  tenure  and  occupation 
of  Samuel  Aplton  and  so  ranging  from  Sawgust  River  to  a  tree 
marked  with  ye  letter  L.  and  from  thence  bounded  by  said  Samuel 
Appltons  land  according  as  ye  old  fence  runns  to  ye  logg  bridge  & 
by  ye  land  of  John  White  from  ye  said  Logg  bridge  to  ye  land  of 
said  Brattle  or  howsoever  the  same  be  butted  &  bounded  or  reputed 
to  be  bounded  together  with  all  rights,  profits,  privileges,  commod- 
ityes,  hereditaments  &  appurtenances  whatsoever  to  ye  same 
belonging  or  in  wayes  appertaining.  To  have  &  to  hold  ye  said 
tract  or  parcell  of  land  with  all  other  ye  above-granted  premises, 

35 


Hearths  and  Homes 

being  butted  and  bounded  as  aforesaid  unto  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin 
his  hiers  executors  admins.  .  .  .  and  assignes  and  to  ye  only 
proper  use  benefit  and  behoof  of  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin  his  hiers 
and  assignes  forever  and  ye  said  James  Rumney  Marsh  and  David, 
Indians  do  hereby  covenant  promis  and  grant  to  &  with  ye  said 
Daniel  Hutchin  his  hiers  and  assignes  yt  they  have  in  themselves 
full  power,  good  right  &  lawfull  authority  to  grant,  sell,  convey 
and  assure  ye  same  unto  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin  his  hiers  and 
assignes  as  a  full  firm  perfect  &  absolute  estate  of  inheritance  in 
fee-simple  without  any  manner  of  condicon,  reversion  or  limitation 
on  whatsoever  so  as  to  alter  change,  defeat  or  make  void  ye  same 
and  that  ye  said  Daniel  Hutchin  his  hiers  and  assignes  shall  &  may 
by  force  &  virtue  of  these  presents  from  time  to  time  and  att  all 
times  forever  hereafter  lawfully  peaceably  &  quietly  have  hold  use 
occupie  possess  &  enjoy  ye  same  and  every  part  thereof  free  and 
clear  and  clearly  discharged  of  and  from  all  &  all  manner  of 
former  and  other  gifts,  grants  bargains  sales  leases  mortgages 
joyntures  Dowres  judgments  executions  entails  forfietures  and  of 
and  from  all  other  titles  troubles  charges  &  encumbrances  what- 
soever had  made  committed  done  or  suffered  to  be  done  by  you  ye 
said  James  Rumney  Marsh  &  David  Indians  or  either  of  them  thier 
or  either  of  thier  hiers  or  assigns  att  any  time  or  times  befor  ye 
ensealing  hereof  and  further  yt  ye  said  James  Rumney  Marsh  & 
David  Indians  thier  hiers  &  assignes  shall  &  will  from  time  to  time 
and  att  all  times  forever  hereafter  warrant  and  defend  ye  above 
granted  pemises  with  their  appurtenances  &  every  part  thereof 
unto  ye  said  Daniell  Hutchin  his  hiers  and  assignes  against  all  & 
every  person  and  psons  whatsoever  any  wayes  lawfully  claiming  or 
demanding  ye  same  or  any  part  thereof  in  wittness  whereof  ye  said 
James  Rumney  Marsh  &  David  Indians  have  hereunto  set  thier 
hands  and  sealls  the  twenty  eights  day  of  July  anno.  Dom.  one 
thousand  six  hundred  eighty  and  six  Annoq.  Jacobi  Secundi, 
Anglice  &c.,  Secundo. 

Signed,  sealed  &  delivered  \  James  iamses  Rumney  Marsh  &  Seall 
in  ye  presence  of  us,  marke 

\  his 

John  Hayward  Not.  Pub.  —  (  David  9  Indian  &   Seall 

.  I  marke 

Zachariah  Shute  Servt.  /  James  Rumney  Marsh  alias  Quan- 
upcowit  and  David  Kunkskawmusliat  acknowledged  the  within 


of  Old  Lynn 

written  instr.  to  be  thier  act  &  deed,  Daniel  Hutchin  being  also 
present  averred  that  he  was  in  ye  actuall  possession  of  the  within 
mentioned  parcell  of  land  July  28th,  1686. 

Pme          Peter  Bulkeley  one  of  his  Majesties  Councill. 


ESSEX  REGISTRY  DEEDS,  So.  DIST.  ") 
SALEM,  OCT.  25,  1888.  j 

The  foregoing  is  a  true  copy  of  record  in  this  office. 

Attest,  CHAS.  S.  OSGOOD,  Reg. 


Where  naturally  would  have  been  planted  the 
home  buildings  of  such  an  estate  stand  to-day  ven- 
erable farm  buildings.  The  dwelling  house  upon 
the  "plough  plain"  must  have  stood  just  where  is 
the  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Elizabeth 
and  Hannah  Hawkes,  whose  grandmother  was  Sarah 
(Hitchings)  Hawkes,  the  daughter  of  Daniel  Hitchings. 

This  Daniel  Hitchings,  who,  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  lived  in  the  house  next  east  of  this  one, 
since  known  as  the  Lott  Edmands  place,  was  the 
descendant  of  the  first  Daniel  Hitchings ;  so  that 
this  old  house  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  lineal 
descendants  of  the  white  settler  who  first  took  it  - 
Englishman  like  —  by  squatter  sovereignty,  and  then 
quieted  title  by  buying  off  the  poor  Indian.  Only  a 
fragment  of  the  original  grant  attaches  to  the  house 
under  consideration.  The  boundaries  of  the  thirty 
acres  about  this  place  are  the  same  they  were  many 
more  than  a  hundred  years  ago.  The  outlying  wood 
lots,  and  salt  marsh,  too,  have  followed  the  ownership 

37 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  the  house  — the  characteristic  stone  wall  of  the 
fathers  still  marks  it  from  the  common  lands  on  the 
north,  and  the  town  way  runs  around  it  south  and 
east,  and  the  only  names  mentioned  in  the  deeds  as 
abutters  on  the  west  in  this  period  are  the  two 
successive  owners,  Elkanah  and  Nathan  Hawkes. 

This  house  has  the  antique  cased  beams  of  oak, 
showing  in  the  ceiling  of  the  lower  rooms,  and  brac- 
ing the  upper  floors.  There  was  a  time  when  it  was 
the  ambition  of  the  writer  to  grow  tall  enough  to 
grasp  these  beams.  Now  when  he  enters  the  low, 
sunny  rooms  he  takes  his  hat  off  lest  it  hit  the  beam. 
It  still  retains  the  peculiar,  long,  sloping  back  roof, 
once  so  common,  which  is  the  only  roof  ever  devised 
to  get  the  best  of  Boreas  in  these  northern  climes. 
The  writer  has  been  informed  by  the  press  that 
there  has  been  a  revival  of  the  andiron  and  beaufet 
period.  He  is  aware  of  a  bastard  imitation  of  the 
old.  He  is  cognizant  of  the  craze  to  frequent  auction 
rooms,  where  old  clocks  made  to  order,  at  a  week's 
notice,  are  to  be  had.  He  is  familiar  with  the  fashion 
of  placing  the  chimney  on  the  outside  of  the  house, 
in  imitation  of  negro  quarters  in  the  South,  and  call- 
ing it  a  Queen  Anne  cottage,  but  all  sensible  persons 
know  that  the  fathers  were  wise  when  they  put  their 
chimneys  in  the  centre  of  the  house  in  this  bleak 
climate.  Under  these  sloping  roofs,  opening  from 
the  second  story,  lighted  by  little  windows  on  the 
east  and  west,  is  a  queer  recess,  accessible  only  to 
the  high  priestess  of  the  household.  It  is  triangular, 
in  mathematical  parlance.  The  floor  is  the  base,  the 

38 


of  Old  Lynn 

partition  of  the  rooms  in  front  is  the  perpendicular, 
and  the  roof  is  the  hypothenuse.  The  garret  is  free 
to  favored  children,  but  this  inner  temple  contains 
sacred  emblems,  which  only  the  most  exalted  degrees 
entitle  one  to  look  upon.  Can  these  things  be  dupli- 
cated in  the  house  built  to-day  by  contract  ?  No.  In 
spite  of  the  profane  sneer,  there  is  some  sentiment 
in  most  men  stronger  than  even  the  glitter  of  gold 
in  their  eyes. 

There  was  no  lapse  in  the  Hitchings  name  and 
occupation  till  May  6,  1765,  when  Joseph  Hitchings 
conveyed  to  young  Adam  Hawkes,  then  just  of  age 
and  married  to  Hannah  Newhall.  Adam  was  the 
son  of  John  and  the  grandson  of  Moses.  When 
Adam  took  possession,  besides  the  house  now  stand- 
ing, there  was  an  old  house  upon  the  premises  which 
has  since  disappeared.  Adam1  died  while  still  a 
young  man.  His  kinsman,  Thomas  Hawkes,  admin- 
istered upon  the  estate,  and  after  its  sale  his  widow 
and  children  removed  to  Boston.  Among  his  descend- 
ants of  the  present  time  is  Adam  Augustus  Hawkes, 
of  Wakefield,  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  old  place. 
Joseph  Hitchings,  the  grantor,  was  the  son  of 
Elkanah,  who  was  the  son  of  Daniel. 

In  1785,  the  buildings  upon  this  place  were  iden- 

irThis  Adam  Hawkes  was  in  Captain  David  Parker's  Company 
at  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  April  19,  1775.  The  pathetic  story  of 
this  patriot  of  the  Revolution,  who  left  a  widow  and  a  family  of 
small  children,  is  briefly  related  in  a  family  record  made  before 
1800,  and  is  as  follows  :  — 

"Adam  Hawkes  entered  on  board  the  privateer  '  Graybow ' 
under  command  of  Captain  Hammon  (probably  Capt.  Edward 

39 


Hearths  and  Homes 

tical  in  form  and  fact  as  they  are  seen  to-day. 
Fortunately,  the  frenzy  for  modernizing,  or  so-called 
improving,  has  not  affected  the  various  tenants.  The 
books  teach  the  law  of  holding  lands  in  fee  simple, 
but  no  individual  has  yet  been  able  to  secure  more 
than  a  life  tenancy  in  any  real  estate,  save  his  little 
plot  in  the  churchyard. 

June  5,  1785,  Thomas  Hawkes,  administrator  of 
the  estate  of  Adam  Hawkes,  conveyed  the  estate  to 
Samuel  Sweitser,  Jr.  This  was  not  an  alienation,  for 
the  wife  of  Samuel  was  Lydia,  daughter  of  John 
Hawkes.  Samuel  kept  the  place  till  March  26,  1807, 
when,  having  in  the  meanwhile  adopted  the  present 
spelling  of  the  name  Sweetser,  he  gave  it  back  to 
the  original  owner's  name  in  the  person  of  Daniel 
Hitchings.  It  happened  in  this  case  that  the 
grantee's  wife  was  Eunice,  the  daughter  of  Elkanah 
Hawkes.  The  next  change  passed  it  into  the  pos- 
session of  Ebenezer  Hawkes,  whose  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  Daniel  Hitchings.  Then  came  Cornelius 
C.  Felton  and  Caroline  Plummer,  of  Salem,  and 
James  Draper. 

The  Draper  family  owned  and  occupied  this  house 
from  1827  till  its  conveyance  to  Nathan  Hawkes  in 
1848.  Here  lived  and  died  Deacon  Ira  Draper,  an 

Hammond,  who  was  sent  back  to  Boston  Oct.  8,  1778,  to  be  ex- 
changed for  British  prisoners,  Vol.  VII,  p.  182,  Muster  Rolls) 
May  9,  1778,  and  was  taken  by  the  enemy  and  carried  to  Halifax 
to  prison,  where  he  remained  till  the  last  of  Sept.,  when  he  was 
exchanged  and  on  the  16th  of  October  he  arrived  at  Boston  and 
got  home  on  Friday  the  19th  of  Oct.,  sick  with  the  yellow  fever, 
which  continued  till  the  20th  and  then  he  dyed." 

40 


of  Old  Lynn 

ingenious  mechanic,  from  whom  his  sons  Eben  and 
George  inherited  the  inventive  talent  that  created 
the  lively  town  of  Hopedale. 

Forty  years  ago,  Nathan  Hawkes,  son  of  Nathan 
Hawkes  of  the  Third  Parish,  retired  to  this  little 
farm  to  spend  the  declining  years  of  a  serene  old 
age.  Here  he  died  in  1862  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven 
years.  His  boy  companion  in  many  delightful  rural 
drives  through  the  by-ways  of  the  border-land  of 
Essex  and  Middlesex  unconsciously  absorbed  the 
impressions  that  seek  expression  in  these  papers. 

Dr.  Edward  A.  Kittredge,  the  eccentric  physician 
and  humorous  writer,  who  ought  to  be  remembered 
as  "  Noggs,"  lived  for  a  time  in  a  cottage  under  the 
pines  west  of  this  place.  In  a  lecture  at  Wakefield 
he  said  that  it  was  a  truism  that  there  were  excep- 
tions to  all  general  laws,  but  that  the  only  exception 
to  the  rule  that  water  would  not  run  up  hill  had  been 
illustrated  by  his  neighbor,  Nathan  Hawkes.  In  one 
of  his  experiments  for  draining  his  low  lands  he  had 
turned  the  water,  so  that  it  apparently  ran  up  hill. 
The  doctor  and  the  veteran  guider  of  the  rill  of 
water  died  many  years  since,  but  the  water  still  runs 
in  the  channel  cut  for  it,  and,  if  the  doctor  was  right, 
it  still  runs  up  hill.  It  yet  travels  the  same  way,  for 
the  boy  who  saw  the  channel  dug  has  watched  it 
every  season  since  —  when  the  buds  were  swelling, 
when  the  snow  was  blowing,  when  the  crows  were 
feasting  upon  the  young  corn,  and  when  the  pump- 
kins were  ripening  in  the  autumn  sun. 

The  northern  line  abuts  upon  the  common  woods  - 

41 


Hearths  and  Homes 

The  Six  Hundred  Acres.  Through  its  centre  from 
Oaklandvale  and  Melrose  flows  the  calm  and  even- 
tempered  Crystal  Brook,  till  within  sight  of  the  house 
on  the  east,  beyond  the  turnpike,  it  joins  the  Saugus, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  hillside  colored  with  foliage 
that  no  painter  dare  imitate.  The  road  to  this  place, 
zigzagging  in  a  generally  northern  course  from  the 
Oaklandvale  schoolhouse,  is  arched  by  the  interlacing 
tree-tops,  and  is  styled  in  the  ancient  records,  "  the 
way  by  Mr.  Taylor's  farm."  Since  it  ceased  to  be  a 
town-way  of  Lynn,  to  become  one  in  Saugus,  it  has 
been  left  to  work  out  its  own  salvation,  which  is  the 
usual  course  in  a  country  town  when  its  road  survey- 
ors or  commissioners  do  not  chance  to  live  in  the 
vicinity.  It  must  be  remembered  that  town  officials 
are  apt  to  slight  such  matters,  because  they  are  not 
taught  nor  paid  for  aesthetics. 

The  way  by  the  house  to  the  north  looks  like  a  no- 
thoroughfare.  Many  a  traveler  as  he  scans  the  dis- 
used road  repents  and  turns  about,  yet  there  is  an 
old  road  that  leads  out  by  Hewlett's  mill,  a  mile 
beyond.  It  is  a  picturesque  scene  that  meets  the  eye 
of  the  bold  stroller  who  ventures  up  this  region, 
which  may  be  haunted  by  the  shade  of  "old  Bill 
Edmands."  There  are  rocks  and  rills  well  worth  see- 
ing. There  are  abandoned  apple  orchards,  vainly 
struggling  with  native  trees  for  possession.  Not  a 
vestige  of  the  buildings  where  the  pugnacious  Mr. 
Edmands  lived  can  be  seen.  The  cellar  where  he 
stored  his  potatoes  and  horsed  his  barrels  of  cider, 
the  New  England  farmer's  beverage,  can  scarcely  be 

42 


of  Old  Lynn 

distinguished  from  a  last  year's  woodchuck's  hole. 
There  is  a  grim  record  on  the  books  of  the  town  of 
Saugus  relative  to  this  road.  It  was  not  meant  as 
satire,  but  it  sounds  like  it.  Mr.  Edmands  had  a 
petition  before  the  town  meeting  for  some  improve- 
ment. The  clerk  gravely  records  that  the  vote  was 
against  the  prayer,  "William  Edmands  only  voting 
yes."  Like  his  brother  Lott,  William  loved  a  lawsuit 
better  than  his  dinner.  He  won  and  lost,  and  at  the 
end  was  like  Esop's  litigant  —  he  had  the  shell  of  the 
oyster  only.  But  this  is  a  digression,  simply  intro- 
duced to  show  the  wayfarer  that  he  is  not  obliged 
to  turn  around  and  retrace  his  steps  when  he  reaches 
this  vale  of  serenity  —  this  restful  abode  bounded  by 
mossy  walls  of  past  ages. 


43 


AN  ANCIENT  HOUSE  IN  NORTH   SAUGUS. 


"0  home,  so  desolate  and  lorn! 

Did  all  thy  memories  die  with  thee? 
Were  any  wed,  were  any  born, 
Beneath  this  low  roof -tree?" 

;LD  houses  and  old  homesteads  have  always 
had  a  fascination  for  a  certain  intelligent 
class  in  every  community.  The  attraction  is 
not  due  to  the  elegance  of  the  place,  nor  to  the  great- 
ness or  wealth  of  the  founder.  With  our  English- 
descended  race  it  is  an  ingrained  reverence  for  our 
fathers  and  a  continuing  hunger  to  know  something 
of  our  kin.  The  individual  man  passes  on,  but  often 
leaves  behind  him  some  material  objects  which  seem 
to  defy  time  and  endure  for  after  generations,  some 
members  of  which  are  intuitively  made  to  feel  the 
touch  of  the  prior  user,  or  builder,  or  enjoyer. 

For  example,  the  writer  has  an  old  oaken  arm-chair 
which  has  been  in  daily  use  for  at  least  five  genera- 
tions. It  is  one  of  his  most  valued  possessions,  not 
on  account  of  its  having  any  money  value,  but  simply 
because  it  brings  him  very  near  to  a  man  who  sat  in 
it  to  a  good,  old  age.  This  man  died  more  than  sixty 
years  ago.  His  chair  is  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old,  and  his  house  is  much  older.  His  sword  —  for 
his  Revolutionary  title,  as  appears  by  the  parish  rec- 

45 


Hearths  and  Homes 


ords,  was  Lieutenant  —  happily  unstained  by  blood, 
is  in  the  same  room,  and  is  now  only  a  terror  to 
children  and  old  people. 

Having  been  frequently  asked  if  there  were  any 
ancient  houses  in  the  old  Lynn  which  is  now  Saugus, 
the  writer  presumes  to  recall  this  one,  partly  because 
of  his  connection  with  it,  and  also  by  virtue  of  the 

fact  that  the  water  sys- 
tem of  Lynn  bids  fair  to 
largely  change  the  old 
landmarks  of  our  rural 
retreat.  One  mile  south- 
east, as  the  bee  flies, 
from  the  Tarbell  place, 
over  the  line  into  Sau- 
gus by  way  of  an  an- 
cient native  American 
trail,  almost  under  the 
shadow  of  Indian  Rock, 
which  was  a  guide  and 
trysting-place  for  the 
red  man,  stands  a  vener- 
able house.  It  closely 
hugs  the  earth,  as  though 
its  builder  foresaw  the  centuries  during  which  bitter 
winds  and  pitiless  storms  would  blow  over  it,  and  so 
rooted  it  down  to  the  soil.  As  if  to  still  further 
anchor  it  to  the  spot,  it  had  a  great  chimney,  which, 
when  removed  forty  years  ago,  gave  space  for  a  fair- 
sized  sleeping-room. 
The  house  was  built  about  1725  by  Moses  Hawkes, 

46 


INDIAN    ROCK. 


of  Old  Lynn 

son  of  Moses,  to  whom  the  land  came  under  the  will 
of  the  first  settler.  In  1708,  the  first  Moses,  a  young 
man  with  a  family  of  minor  children,  found  it 
expedient  to  call  upon  his  neighbor,  the  celebrated 
speaker,  John  Burrill,  to  write  his  will.  He  gave 
one-half  of  his  farm  to  his  eldest  son  Moses,  with  the 
option  of  taking  either  the  home  part  or  what  was 
called  the  Neck,  and  then  he  died.  When  the  son 
Moses  reached  his  majority,  in  1725,  he  put  on  record 
in  the  Registry  of  Deeds,  at  Salem,  his  election  to 
take  the  Neck,  and  commended  his  "  Honored  Mother, 
Margaret  "  (Cogswell)  and  his  "  Honored  uncle  Eben- 
ezer,"  the  executors  of  his  father's  will,  for  their 
management  of  the  estate  during  his  minority.  Then 
he  married  Susannah  Hitchings,  kinswoman  of  Daniel 
Townsend,  who  was  immortalized  by  heroic  death  in 
the  next  generation  at  Lexington. 

The  house  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  road 
from  North  Saugus  to  Wakefield,  a  few  rods  west  of 
the  schoolhouse,  which  is  upon  land  taken  from  the 
farm.    Of  course  it  faces  due  south.    No  true  Yankee 
farmer  ever  violated  this  rule  of  common  sense.    The( 
custom  was  to  select  the  most  eligible  spot  on  th( 
farm,  with  the  tillage  and  grazing  land  in  front  —  let' 
the  roads  conform  to  the  house,  not  the  other  way. 

To  Moses  and  his  wife,  Susannah,  was  born  a  large 
family.  Moses  was  active  in  forming  the  Third  or 
West  Parish  (Saugus).  Upon  his  son  Nathan,  born 
in  this  house  in  1745,  fell  his  mantle  in  church  and 
civil  affairs. 

Nathan  was  united  in  marriage  with  Sarah  Hitch- 

47 


Hearths  and  Homes 

ings,  September  3,  1769,  by  the  noted  Parson  Roby. 
He  was  parish  clerk  during  a  period  of  Mr.  Roby's 
pastorate.  The  friendship  of  pastor  and  clerk  was 
very  close.  The  son  of  one  married  the  granddaugh- 
ter of  the  other.  In  death  they  were  not  separated, 
as  their  graves  are  side  by  side  in  the  old  Saugus 
church-yard.  This  man  who  was  born,  who  lived  and 
died,  in  the  same  house,  has  the  distinction  of  being 
the  last,  if  not  the  only,  selectman  that  Saugus  fur- 
nished Lynn  before  the  separation.  He  was  one  of 
the  Board  in  1805,  1806,  1807.  During  his  service 
the  final  divorcement  of  town  and  church  took  place 
in  Lynn.  The  contention  between  the  first  church 
and  town  was  solved  by  the  town  meeting,  being  held 
in  1806  in  the  Methodist  Church.  In  1811,  James 
Gardiner  and  Nathan  Hawkes  were  a  committee  of 
the  town  to  build  the  road  so  long  known  as  the 
Downing  Road.  It  was  so  named  because  the  con- 
tractor, whom  the  committee  employed,  was  Caleb 
Downing. 

Recently  the  fields  back  of  the  house  have  been 
disfigured  by  the  abortive  ditch  to  Hewlett's  Pond, 
which  the  future  will  style  "  Lynn's  water  folly."  To 
the  east,  the  natural  union  of  the  Hawkes  and  Penny 
Brooks  has  been  stimulated  by  the  same  municipal 
authority.  On  the  south,  beyond  the  green  meadows 
and  beyond  the  plain  at  the  point  of  the  Neck,  the 
two  brooks  mingle  with  the  waters  of  Saugus  River 
and  swell  the  power  that  works  the  looms  below. 
In  the  little  square  house,  with  the  four-sided  roof 
meeting  at  a  point,  east  of  the  brook  and  south  of 

48 


of  Old  Lynn 

the  present  schoolhouse,  the  Rev.  Edward  T.  Taylor, 
afterwards  founder  of  the  Seamen's  Bethel  in  Boston, 
first  shouted  Methodism.  In  this  house  he  received 
the  rudiments  of  education,  and  under  its  roof  he 
was  entertained  during  his  itinerancy. 

Before  the  building  of  the  first  schoolhouse,  the 
first  detached  school  of  the  Third  Parish  was  estab- 
lished in  an  apartment  of  this  house.  In  David  N. 
Johnson's  "Sketches  of  Lynn"  is  found  the  first 
school  report  made  to  the  Town  of  Lynn.  The  out- 
lying districts  were  Nahant,  North  Saugus,  and 
Swampscott,  thus  mentioned  :  "  Your  committee  also 
visited  Nahant ;  found  nine  present.  Also  the  school 
at  Nathan  Hawkes' ;  present  twelve.  Also  John 
Phillips  ;  number  fifteen  subjects.  All  the  schools 
visited  were  in  good  order."  This  school  report  is 
dated  April  14,  1812. 

Although  Nathan  continued  his  interest  in  school 
matters  through  life,  his  crowning  and  important 
achievement  was  the  establishment  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  the  Town  of  Saugus.  He  was  the  principal 
petitioner  for  this  act,  and  for  the  contest,  his  ripe 
experience  in  town  affairs,  and  the  recognition  by 
the  people  of  both  parts  of  the  town  of  his  ability 
and  fairness,  amply  qualified  him  to  win  the  Legis- 
lative battle  which  added  Saugus  to  the  list  of 
Massachusetts  towns  in  1815. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  a  way  of  the  by-gone 
days,  which  few  living  now  recall,  though  easily 
tracked.  The  two  houses  are  connected  by  an  inci- 
dent which  the  young,  at  least,  can  appreciate.  The 

49 


Hearths  and  Homes 

red  men  silently  trod  this  trail  in  what  savants  call 
the  "Stone  Age,"  traces  of  which  are  found  on  all 
the  brooksides  in  this  region.  In  youth,  the  writer 
wondered  who  had  enjoyed  these  secluded  paths  since 
that  time.  He  now  knows  that  one  man,  who  was 
born  a  subject  of  King  George,  in  1775,  and  lived  on 
to  the  midst  of  our  War  of  the  Rebellion,  in  1862, 
enjoyed  the  tramp  through  these  solitudes,  by  way 
of  Indian  Rock,  from  North  Saugus  to  Lynn  field. 
He  hunted  different  game,  however,  in  the  glen. 
His  hunt  was  crowned  with  success.  He  did  not  live 
in  the  Stone  Age,  for  the  Lynnfield  Parish  records 
relate  the  marriage  by  good  Parson  Joseph  Mottey, 
of  Nathan  Hawkes,  son  of  Nathan  of  the  West 
Parish,  to  Elizabeth  Tarbell,  January  22,  1805. 

This  place  illustrates  the  difference  our  flexible 
land  laws  make  between  us  and  our  old  home.  The 
first  white  man  in  North  Saugus  was  Adam  Hawkes. 
Like  a  true  Englishman,  he  loved  the  soil  he  tilled. 
He  brought  with  him  English  notions  of  primogeni- 
ture. When  he  began  to  set  his  house  in  order  for 
the  great  change,  he  attempted  to  provide  for  his 
eldest  grandchild  by  a  clause  of  his  will,  which  is 
copied  in  the  spelling  of  1671 :  - 

"  John  Hawks  is  to  deliver  and  sett  out  unto  Moses 
Hawks,  his  sonn,  which  he  had  by  rebeckah  Hawks, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Moses  Mavericke  and  his  heirs  for 
ever  one  haulf  of  that  fearme  which  the  said  Hawks 
lived  and  died  upon,  boath  upland  and  medow  and 
houseing  being  in  Lyn,  only  for  the  houseing  the 
said  Hawks  is  to  paye  the  value  thereof  if  he  please, 

50 


of  Old  Lynn 

all  of  which  is  to  be  don  when  the  aforesaid  Moses 
corns  to  twenty  and  one  years  of  age  and  if  it  please 
god  the  said  Moses  dye  before  the  age  of  one  and 
twenty  years,  the  said  estate  is  to  goe  unto  his  father 
John  Hawks,  and  his  children  forever,  this  aforesaid 
guift  is  the  legacy  of  Mr.  Adam  Hawks  to  his  grand- 
child Moses  Hawks." 

The  scheme  was  not  a  perfect  success,  for  little 
more  than  two  hundred  years  have  elapsed  and  this 
old  house  and  the  close  about  it  only  remain  to  the 
kin  of  Moses,  while  the  patrimony  of  his  younger 
brethren  is  still  held  by  their  descendants  in  un- 
broken line.  The  cause  is  not  hard  to  find.  The 
boys  to  till  the  soil  were  too  few,  or  they  took  to 
themselves  wives  and  went  their  way. 

In  earlier  years  the  apple  trees  bloomed  about  this 
hospitable  mansion.  The  garden  was  fragrant  with 
the  scent  of  old-time  shrubs  and  flowers.  Alas ! 
landlord  absenteeism  is  as  blighting  in  New  England 
as  in  old  Ireland,  and  the  place  is  not  as  it  was  when 
some  of  its  builders'  kin  occupied  it. 


51 


NOTED    NAMES    UPON    A    REVOLUTIONARY 
COMMISSION. 


Colony  of  the 
Maffachufetts-Bay 


J.  Bowdoin 
James  Otis 
W.  Spooner 
Caleb  Gushing 
J.  Winthrop 
B.  Chadbourn 
T.  Gushing 
John  Whetcomb 
James  Prefcott 
Eldad  Taylor 
J.  Palmer 
S.  Holten 
Moses  Gill 
Michael  Farley 
Jed'h  Foster 


The  Major  Part  of  the  COUNCIL 
of  the  MafTachufetts-Bay,  in 
New-England, 


To  Nathan  Hawkes,  Gentleman,  Greeting. 

YOU  being  appointed  first  Lieutenant  of  the 
Second  Company  whereof  John  Pool  is  Cap- 
tain of  the  first  Regiment  of  Militia  in  the 
County  of  Efsex  whereof  Timothy  Pickering  Jr. 
Esq.  is  Colonel 

By  Virtue  of  the  Power  vefted  in  us,  WE  do  by 
thefe  Prefents,  (repofmg  fpecial  Truft  and  Con- 
fidence in  your  Loyalty,  Courage,  and  good  Con- 
duct, )  Commiffion  you  accordingly.  —  You  are 
therefore  carefully  and  diligently  to  difcharge 
the  Duty  of  a  first  Lieut,  in  leading,  ordering, 
and  exercifmg  faid  Company  in  Arms,  both  In- 
ferior Officers  and  Soldiers ;  and  to  keep  them 
in  good  Order  and  Difcipline  :  —  And  they  are 
hereby  commanded  to  obey  you  as  their  first 
Lieut,  and  you  are  yourfelf,  to  obferve  and  fol- 
low fuch  Orders  and  Inftructions  as  you  fhall 
from  Time  to  Time  receive  from  the  major  part 
of  the  Council  or  your  superior  Officers. 

GIVEN  under  our  Hands  and  the  Seal  of  the 
faid  Colony,  at  Watertown  the  Twenty  Sixth 
Day  of  April  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx  In  the  year  of  our  Lord,  One 
Thoufand  Seven  hundred  and  Seventy  Six. 

By  the  Command  of  the 
Major  Part  of  the  Council 

PEREZ  MORTON 


D  Secry. 


53 


Hearths  and  Homes 

The  student  of  American  History  will  pardon  the 
introduction  of  a  time-stained,  yet  well-preserved, 
document,  which  bears  the  autographs  of  a  noted 
band  of  leaders  of  Massachusetts  thought. 

The  first  on  the  list  is  James  Bowdoin,  member  of 
the  first  Continental  Congress  and  second  Governor 
under  the  Constitution.  The  last,  Jedediah  Foster, 
was  a  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Judicature. 
Thomas  Gushing  was  eight  years  Lieutenant-Governor 
under  Hancock  and  Bowdoin,  and,  as  Mr.  Drake  says, 
"friend  and  co-worker  in  the  patriot  cause  with 
Adams,  Otis  and  Warren."  Moses  Gill  was  six  years 
Lieutenant  and  Acting  Governor.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  two  Electoral  Colleges,  which  elected 
George  Washington  President. 

John  Winthrop  and  Caleb  Gushing  were  the  Rev- 
olutionary representatives  of  names  pre-eminent  in 
our  early  and  late  history. 

The  modest  name,  S.  Holten,  stands  for  Dr.  Samuel 
Holten,  an  Essex  County  man,  a  sketch  of  whose 
active  and  versatile  life  is  given  in  Mr.  White's 
charming  history  of  Danvers.  He  is  there  described 
as,  "  all  things  considered,  the  most  remarkable  man 
the  town  has  ever  produced."  Michael  Farley,  of 
Ipswich,  was  another  Essex  man.  His  native  town 
gladly  bestowed  all  its  offices  upon  him,  and  he  was 
also  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  High 
Sheriff  and  Major-General  of  Militia.  The  historian 
of  Ipswich  says  that  "he  excelled  in  State-craft." 

Every  name  of  the  fifteen  was  the  signature  of  a 
patriot  and  man  of  mark.  James  Otis,  however, 

54 


*•*         Pv?         'V^.  v  r   £    '  Bv», 

o   ^   ure*i2-i  Her  ;- 

u^    ->      r^-SH^-Si^ 


^^'11 


•j    >  ^^i^4^'<  '        '  ^ 

.f    vi|  v  1  ^1  M  *>   ; 

'*V;\N*  'x  M  85  £  -I  ^   i> 


K| 

MS 


; 


of  Old  Lynn 

towers  above  all  as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  lumin- 
aries that  any  revolutionary  epoch  of  the  human 
race  ever  produced.  He  dedicated  Faneuil  Hall  as 
the  "Cradle  of  Liberty,"  and  it  was  he  "whose 
electric  eloquence  was  like  the  ethereal  flash  that 
quenched  its  fire." 

These  men  were  denounced  by  King  George  as 
traitors.  His  army  of  occupation  drove  them  from 
Boston.  They  took  the  blank  papers  of  the  Royal 
Governor  and  went  out  to  Watertown,  where  they 
set  up  a  rebel  government.  They  carefully  erased 
all  reference  to  "  His  Majesty,  George  the  Third,  by 
the  Grace  of  God,"  etc.,  and  then,  upon  forms  which 
plainly  show  in  the  water-mark  the  Crown,  the  Brit- 
ish Arms  and  G.  R.,  they  boldly  issued  commissions 
to  their  fellow-subjects  to  make  war  upon  the  stuffy 
old  king  —  to  defend  American  liberties  and  to  main- 
tain the  priceless  heritage  of  freedom,  which  their 
fathers  had  left  home  for,  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
before. 

This  commission  was  one  of  those  issued  by  "  The 
Major  Part  of  the  Council,"  upon  its  own  responsi- 
bility, before  the  General  Court  passed  the  Act  of 
May  1,  1776,  abolishing  the  regal  style.  This  famous 
"  Major  Part  of  the  Council "  continued  to  be  the 
Executive  Authority  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony 
till  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  in  1780. 


55 


HAWKES  POND  FROM  FULLER  HILL. 


THE  TARBELL  PLACE. 


T  IS  well  to  gather  up  and  preserve  bits  of  local 
history  before  they  become  dim  traditions  by 
oral  transmission.  There  is  an  old  homestead 
and  farm  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  Lynnfield 
which  deserves  a  passing  glance  from  its  associations. 

Upon  its  eastern  boundary  flows  the  placid  Hawkes 
Brook ;  *  its  southern  line  is  on  the  border  between 
Saugus  and  Lynnfield ;  its  western  boundary  is  the 
Saugus  River,  which  is  also  the  line  between  two 
towns,  Lynnfield  and  Wakefield,  and  between  two 
counties,  Middlesex  and  Essex ;  its  northern  bound- 
ary was  the  farm  of  George  L.  Hawkes,  which  came 
to  him  through  a  long  line  of  worthy  ancestors. 

It  is  now  absorbed  in  his  great  estate.  The  union 
of  these  two  places,  after  a  separation  for  several 
generations,  returns  the  Tarbell  homestead  to  the 
descendant  of  the  first  planter.  When  the  estate  of 
John  Hawkes,  son  of  Adam  (the  pioneer),  was  settled 
in  1695,  eight  score  of  acres,  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
Saugus  River,  running  up  to  the  point  where  Daniel 
Eaton  had  established  his  mill  on  the  stream  in 
Lynnfield  at  the  same  privilege  used  by  Adam 


1  This  brook  is  now  a  part  of  Lynn's  water  system,  under  the 
name  of  Hawkes  Pond. 

57 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Hawkes  for  his  fulling  mill  in  the  opening  years  of 
this  century,  and  later  for  an  organ  factory,  a  sash 
and  blind  factory  and  other  purposes,  were  by  John 
Hawkes  and  Thomas  Hawkes  and  Francis  Hutchin- 
son,  guardian  of  Ebenezer  Hawkes,  set  off  to  John, 
the  young  son  of  John  Senior's  deceased  son  Adam. 
From  him  have  descended  those  of  the  Hawkes 
family  who  have  since  lived  on  the  Wakefield  and 
Lynnfield  boundary.  As  he  has  no  use  for  the 
buildings,  it  may  be  that  ere  another  generation  they 
will  be  no  more.1  Indeed,  the  barns  and  the  connect- 
ing lean-to  have  already  disappeared  in  smoke  and 
fire.  Few,  save  old  natives,  could  find  this  place. 

The  big,  homely  old  house  is  in  a  secluded,  yet 
sunny  spot,  far  from  the  road.  Back  of  it  towers  a 
great  boulder  by  which  timid  strangers  were  afraid 
to  drive.  Wooded  hills  on  the  north  and  east  keep 
off  the  chill  east  winds  of  our  rugged  climate.  From 
its  southern  windows  the  eye  looks  upon  as  pretty  an 
intervale,  bordered  by  as  sparkling  a  river  and  framed 
by  as  verdant  hills,  as  old  Essex  can  show. 

This  for  a  century  has  been  known  as  the  Tarbell 
Place.  Here  after  the  Revolutionary  War  came 
Jonathan  Tarbell  from  the  South  Parish  of  Danvers, 
now  Peabody;  with  him  came  his  wife,  Elizabeth 
(Cook)  Tarbell.  His  father,  Jonathan  Tarbell,  came 

1  Since  this  was  written,  George  L.  Hawkes  died  without  issue, 
and  the  estate,  except  the  inclosure  containing  the  Tarbell  Tomb, 
has  passed  into  the  ownership  of  strangers.  Mr.  Hawkes  will  be 
remembered  for  his  bequests  to  the  Wakefield  Historical  Society 
and  to  the  Lynnfield  Public  Library. 

58 


B§ 

02 

& 

o 

X 


5 
pa 
3 

H 

H 
EH 


of  Old  Lynn 

here  and  died  in  this  house.  Jonathan  Tarbell,  Sr., 
was  the  grandson  of  John  Tarbell  of  Salem  Village, 
whose  name  will  be  ever  noted  as  the  master  spirit  in 
the  ecclesiastical  contest  with  that  arch-conspirator 
of  the  witchcraft  delusion,  Rev.  Samuel  Parris,  which 
finally  ejected  Mr.  Parris  in  disgrace  from  the  county, 
and  vindicated  the  Christian  name  of  Mr.  Tarbell's 
wife's  mother,  Rebecca  Nurse,  the  victim  of  supersti- 
tion in  1692.  After  these  two  there  likewise  lived 
and  died  in  this  house  and  was  buried  in  the  family 
tomb,  upon  the  estate,  a  third  Jonathan  Tarbell.  Of 
what  interest  is  it  at  this  time  when  the  name  is 
extinct  in  this  locality? 

This  is  the  story  in  brief :  On  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  1775,  some  two  hundred  brave  young  men 
marched  from  the  village  green  in  the  South  Parish 
of  Danvers  to  Lexington,  twenty  miles  away.  A 
tragedy  there  took  place.  Every  schoolboy  the  world 
over  feels  his  pulse  beat  more  quickly  as  he  reads  the 
tale  of  the  first  blood  shed  in  the  war  of  American 
Independence.  Seven  Danvers  men  gave  their  lives, 
that  liberty  might  live. 

The  Lexington  monument  in  Peabody,  fittingly 
standing  on  the  spot  whence  the  start  was  made  on 
the  fateful  morning,  commemorates  the  names  of  the 
heroes  who  fell.  The  first  on  the  list  is  "  Samuel  Cook, 
aet.  33."  By  his  side,  when  the  British  bullet  struck 
his  heart,  stood  his  brother-in-law,  Jonathan  Tarbell. 
On  the  twentieth  he  tenderly  carried  his  dead  home 
to  Danvers.  Both  were  members  of  the  company 
commanded  by  their  relative,  Capt.  Samuel  Epps. 

59 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Service  at  Lexington  was  a  patent  of  American 
nobility.  These  men  of  Danvers  were  the  farthest 
from  the  scene  of  action  of  any  who  reached  the 
battlefield.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  fatalities 
of  Danvers  were  larger  than  any  other  town,  save 
only  Lexington  itself.  The  name  Tarbell  as  a  sur- 
name is  lost  in  this  locality. 

To  be  exact,  the  conveyance  was  from  Joseph 
Jeffery  and  his  wife  Priscilla  to  the  senior  Jonathan 
Tarbell.  The  consideration  was  five  hundred  and 
thirty-three  pounds,  six  shillings  and  eight  pence. 
The  acres  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty.  The 
witnesses  were  Jonathan  Tarbell,  Jr.,  the  militiaman, 
Nathaniel  Peaslee  Sargent,  and  Asa  Newhall.  The 
latter  married  the  sister  of  the  grantee,  and  his 
family  has  kept  the  name  in  prominence  in  state 
affairs  to  this  day.  The  deed  is  dated  April  12,  1775, 
a  few  days  before  the  Lexington  alarm,  and  was 
recorded  April  21,  1775,  a  few  days  after  the  battle. 
The  magistrate  was  Timothy  Pickering,  Jr.  Save 
for  the  new  road  from  North  Saugus  to  the  Andrew 
Mansfield  place,  not  a  line  nor  a  wall  has  been 
changed  from  that  day  to  this.  The  white  oak  tree 
mentioned  in  the  incorporation  of  the  district  of 
Lynnfield,  July  3,  1782,  as  follows,  "Beginning  at 
Saugus  River  near  a  white  oak  tree  in  Jonathan 
Tarbell's  lower  field,"  may  have  gone  with  the  family. 
Everything  else  remains  unchanged. 

The  excuse  of  the  writer  for  this  little  sketch  is 
the  fact  that,  by  one  of  his  genealogical  lines,  he 
is  descended  from  Jonathan  Tarbell,  the  soldier  of 
Lexington,  and  was  born  in  the  old  house. 

60 


A  QUAKER  HOME  ON  THE  DOWNING  ROAD. 


:HEN  an  old  house  has  been  dormant  for  a 
generation  or  two  and  has  awakened  to  the 
tread  of  young  feet  of  the  same  race,  is  it 
well  to  depict  the  past  for  the  use  of  the  future? 
Why  not?  Long  holding  seems  to  be  evidence  of 
something  worth  holding  —  something  capable  of 
enduring  beyond  one  simple  life.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
there  is  an  ancient  mansion  in  North  Saugus,  the 
soil  about  which  has  never  known  a  change  from 
the  direct  line  of  family  ownership  since  the  first 
Englishman  paddled  his  canoe  up  the  Saugus  River, 
and  spied  out  the  possibilities  of  husbandry. 

And  there  are  three  other  houses  within  sight  of 
the  smoke  of  each  other's  chimneys  of  which  the 
same  tale  can  be  told  in  this  dear  old  Sleepy  Hollow 
hamlet.  The  house,  never  imposing,  but  always  re- 
spectable, is  on  the  east  side  of  Walnut  Street,  just 
before  that  street  crosses  the  Newburyport  Turnpike. 
It  is  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  spot  where  the 
Puritan  pioneer,  Adam  Hawkes,  built  his  cabin  in 
the  wilderness.  Between  it  and  the  road  stood  a  line 
of  sturdy  buttonwood  trees,  and,  clearer  descrip- 
tion still,  there  is  planted  forever  the  "corn-barn 
rock,"  upon  which,  not  many  years  since,  the  deserted 
corn-barn  stood  betwixt  the  trees  and  the  house. 

61 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Query  !  How  many  people  about  here  know  what 
a  corn-barn  was  ?  The  corn-barn  set  high  on  posts, 
with  abundant  ventilation,  filled,  heaped  up  with 
golden  Indian  corn?  How  it  delighted  the  thrifty 
farmers'  eyes !  What  suggestions  of  huskings  and 
pudding  and  milk !  Even  a  look  at  it  made  the 
young  blood  tingle,  and  the  memory  almost  brings 
up  the  vanished  past.  There  are  still  living  a  few 
good  souls  who  will  smile  and  pleasantly  recall  this 
old  house  when  we  call  it  by  its  then  designation, 
"the  home  of  the  Quaker  old  maids." 

It  was  a  praiseworthy  custom  with  Friends  when 
a  strange  minister  came  to  Lynn  to  spread,  among 
the  scattered  members,  notice  of  the  arrival.  Eben 
Stocker,1  still  living  at  an  advanced  age,  as  a  boy 
lived  with  the  Breed  family  at  Breed's  End.  When 
the  warning  reached  Breed's  it  was  their  duty  to 
pass  the  word  to  the  Hawkes  family  —  the  remote 
outpost  of  the  Friends  —  at  North  Saugus.  It  was 
Eben's  delight  to  be  ordered  to  mount  the  old  horse 
and  post  up  the  Downing  Road.  The  ride  was  in 
itself  pleasant,  and  at  the  end  of  it  were  interesting 
old  ladies,  berries,  shagbark  nuts  and  doughnuts. 
What  more  could  youth  and  health  ask  for?  The 
old  ladies  have  gone  to  their  reward,  the  berries 
have  been  crowded  out  by  trees  and  cows.  The 

1  Ebenezer  Stocker  died  at  Lynn,  October  19,  1888,  aged  eighty- 
seven  years  and  eight  months.  His  father  was  an  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  War  from  Lynn.  The  son  is  believed  to  have  been 
the  last  survivor  of  the  sons  of  Revolutionary  soldiers  resident  in 
Lynn. 

62 


of  Old  Lynn 

rough  exterior  that  hides  the  good  heart  of  the 
shagbark  draws  boys  yet,  and  here,  still  good  for 
the  future  as  in  the  past,  is  the  old  house. 

In  his  early  days  the  writer  was  a  frequent  visitor, 
but  our  people  in  New  England  country  towns  have 
such  a  habit  of  using  the  side  door  that  he  did  not 
know  till  a  generation  had  gone  that  the  house  had 
the  orthodox  front  door  on  the  south. 

What  a  place  that  open  attic,  stored  with  trophies 
of  the  chase,  with  disused  implements  of  olden  in- 
dustries, such  as  spinning  wheels,  was  for  boys  to 
sleep  in  !  What  matter  was  it  that  two  boys  awoke 
one  morning  and  found  that  through  some  crevice 
the  fleecy  snow  had  blown  in  upon  their  bed  ?  Life 
was  young  then,  and  they  were  all  the  warmer. 
And  one  of  those  boys  was  the  most  loyal  and  affec- 
tionate brother  a  boy  ever  had  and  lost. 

The  very  boards  in  the  floor  of  the  best  room  show 
the  trees  our  virgin  forests  grew.  There  have  not 
been  sawed  within  this  century  boards  so  wide,  so 
clear  as  these  that  have  been  trod  by  the  feet  of 
prattling  children,  of  sturdy  manhood,  and  of  old 
age,  as  is  the  law  of  Nature,  whereby  children  are 
born,  reach  maturity,  decay,  pass  away,  and  then  are 
re-created  to  travel  over  the  same  old  course.  Our 
race  ought  to  improve  if  each  generation  saves  some- 
thing from  the  one  which  goes  before. 

This  room  boasted  a  rarity  for  a  little  country 
hamlet.  It  was  the  pride  of  a  thrifty  housekeeper's 
heart  —  a  beaufet.  It  must  have  been  jolly  to  have 
sat  about  the  fireplace  of  a  winter's  evening  and  to 

63 


Hearths  and  Homes 

have  watched  the  lights  and  shades  play  through  the 
room  and  among  the  shining  treasures  displayed  on 
the  beaufet. 

The  demands  of  modern  luxury  and  labor-saving 
civilization  have  hidden  our  fires  in  the  walls,  have 
banished  the  reverie-provoking  back-log,  the  bright 
andirons,  and  buried  the  china  and  silver  Penates 
behind  dark  and  locked  doors.  Is  there  not  in  all 
this  some  loss,  some  sacrifice,  of  the  old  Saxon  idea 
of  home? 

In  this  home  was  born  a  child,  who  in  manhood  be- 
came an  active  agent  in  the  separation  of  Lynn  and 
Saugus.  Ahijah  Hawkes  was  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen  of  Saugus  for  the  first  three  years  of  its 
corporate  existence,  from  1815  to  1818.  His  colleagues 
were  Jonathan  Makepeace  and  Richard  Mansfield. 

And  this  house  saw  the  last  of  the  mild  black 
slavery  that  lingered  in  Massachusetts  till  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  in  1780,  before  which  time 
the  boon  of  freedom  came  to  Ebenezer  Hawkes' 
Phebe  by  purchase  from  her  master  by  her  husband, 
Hannibal,1  the  sexton  of  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting 

1  The  cut  pictures  a  familiar  scene  in  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting  on 
the  Common.  The  bell-ringer,  the  faithful  sexton,  who  exercised 
his  modest  functions  for  so  many  years,  is  Hannibal,  of  whom 
Alonzo  Lewis,  the  historian  of  Lynn,  writes  :— 

"  Hannibal,  a  slave  of  John  Lewis,  was  an  example  of  the  good 
effects  which  education  and  good  treatment  may  produce  in  the 
colored  people.  He  was  brought  from  Africa  when  a  boy,  and  was 
treated  rather  as  a  servant  than  a  slave.  He  married  Phebe,  a 
slave  of  Ebenezer  Hawkes.  By  the  indulgence  of  his  master,  and 
by  working  extra  hours,  he  earned  enough  to  purchase  the  freedom 

64 


of  Old  Lynn 

House.  The  house  was  built  by  Ebenezer  Hawkes 
in  1765,  on  land  which  he  purchased  of  his  father, 
Samuel  Hawkes,  and  erected  coincident  with  a  cere- 


of  three  children  at  forty  dollars  each  ;  but  Phebe  being  a  faithful/ 
slave,  her  master  would  not  part  with  her  short  of  forty  pounds,  V 
yet,  with  a  motive  of  hope  before  him,  Hannibal  was  not  to  be] 
discouraged,  and  in  a  few  years  her  purchase  was  accomplished, 

05 


Hearths  and  Homes 

mony,  the  record  of  which  is  copied  from  the  original 
in  the  manner  and  spelling  of  the  Colonial  days  :— 

"Whereas  Ebenezer  Hawkes,  of  Lynn  in  the 
county  of  Essex,  in  the  province  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  in  New  England,  Black  Smith,  Son  of 
Samuel  Hawkes,  of  Lynn,  aforesaid,  AND  Rebecca 
Alley,  Daughter  of  Samuel  Alley,  of  said  Lynn, 
House  Right,  HAVING  Declared  their  Intentions  of 
taking  each  other  in  marriage  before  several  public 
meetings  of  the  people  called  Quakers  at  Lynn  and 
Salem  according  to  the  Good  Order  used  among  them, 
whose  proceedings  therein  after  deliberate  considera- 
tion thereof  with  regard  unto  the  Righteous  Law  of 
God  and  Example  of  his  people  Recorded  in  the 
Scriptures  of  truth  in  that  case  and  having  consent 
of  parents  and  others  concerned  they  appearing  clear 
of  all  others  were  approved  by  said  meetings  NOW 
these  are  to  certifie,  all  whome  it  may  concern,  that 
for  the  full  accomplishing  of  their  said  Intentions 
this  Seventeenth  Day  of  the  Fourth  Month,  called 


and  his  own  freedom  was  given  to  him.  He  married  in  1762,  and 
had  three  sons  and  six  daughters.  I  have  seldom  known  a  more 
worthy  family." 

Judge  James  R.  Newhall  in  "Lynn:  Her  First  250  Years," 
wrote  :  — 

"Nearly  opposite  the  Carnes  house  was  the  habitation  of  the 
negro  Hannibal,  who,  though  once  an  untutored  slave,  rose  to  be 
highly  regarded  for  manliness  of  character  and  useful  industry. 
He  was  brought  from  Africa  while  a  small  boy,  and  became  the 
property  of  John  Lewis,  who  owned  the  Carnes  house.  Hannibal's 
master  generously  gave  him  his  freedom,  and  the  town  gave  him 
the  little  lot  on  which  his  modest  habitation  was  placed.  He  was 
sexton  of  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-House  for  many  years,  and  ever 
prompt  in  warning  the  people  of  their  Sunday  and  lecture-day 
duties.  And,  as  he  tolled  the  bell  for  the  funerals  of  departed 

66 


of  Old  Lynn 

April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  sixty-five,  the  said  Ebenezer  Hawkes  and 
Rebecca  Alley  appeared  in  a  public  assembly  of  the 
afore-Said  people  and  others  met  together  in  their 
public  meeting  place,  in  Lynn,  and  in  a  solemn  man- 
ner, he  the  said  Ebenezer  Hawkes,  taking  the  said 
Rebecca  Alley  by  the  hand,  Did  openly  declare  that 
he  took  her  to  be  his  wife,  promising  through  the 
Lord's  assistance  to  be  unto  her  a  loving  and  faith- 
full  Husband  untill  Death  should  them  separate  AND 
Then  AND  There  in  the  said  assembly,  the  said 
Rebecca  Alley,  did  in  like  manner  declare  that  she 
took  the  said  Ebenezer  Hawkes  to  be  her  husband, 
in  like  manner  promising  to  be  unto  him  a  faithful 
and  loving  wife  till  death  should  separate  them  And 
MOREOVER,  the  said  Ebenezer  Hawkes  and  Rebecca 
Alley,  she  according  to  the  custom  of  marriage  as- 
suming the  name  of  her  husband  as  a  further  con- 
firmation thereof,  Did  then  and  there  to  these 
presents  set  their  hands,  and  we  whose  names  are 
hereunto  Subscribed  being  present  among  others  at 


neighbors,  by  his  solemn  countenance  and  measured  movements 
showed  his  tender  sympathy.  In  after  days,  with  his  wife  Phebe, 
who  had  been  a  slave  to  Ebenezer  Hawkes,  but  whom  he  had 
redeemed  by  forty  hard-earned  pounds,  he  retired  to  the  northern 
side  of  Walnut  Street,  nearly  opposite  the  head  of  Robinson,  and 
there  lived,  encircled  by  a  large  and  affectionate  family,  till  the 
services  of  another  were  required  to  toll  the  bell  for  him.  Phebe 
collected  herbs  and  distilled  rose  and  mint  waters.  And  the  ladies 
of  the  parish  used  occasionally,  of  a  pleasant  afternoon,  to  visit 
her,  and  take  a  cup  of  tea.  A  worthy  son  succeeded  to  the  little 
estate,  and  the  humble  traffic  still  went  on.  Your  informant  well 
remembers  having  gone  there,  when  a  little  lad,  with  the  basket  of 
wild  rose  leaves,  gathered  from  the  roadside,  seeing  them  deposited 
in  the  huge  iron  pot  with  its  long  tin  nozzle,  and  returning  after  a 
few  days  for  the  promised  bottle  of  rose-water." 

67 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  solemnizing  of  their  said  marriage  and  subscrip- 
tion in  manner  aforesaid  as  WITNESSES  hereunto 
have  subscribed  our  names  the  Day  and  Year  above 
WRITTEN 

Nathan  Breed  Ebenezer  Hawkes 

John  Basset  Rebeckah  Hawkes 

Ruth  Estes 


Anna  Eftes  Samuel  Alley 

Desire  Breed  Hugh  Alley 

Elizabeth  Graves  Nehemiah  Breed 

Martha  Estes  Matthew  Hawkes 

Lois  Collins  Sarah  Alley 

Sarah  Alley  Philadelphia  Hawkes 

Elizabeth  Collins  jr.  Sarah  Hawkes 

Lydia  Breed  Hannah  Estes 

Enoch  Collins  Deborah  Alley 
Daniel  Newhall 

Samuel  Collins  James  Purinton 

Ebenezer  Breed  Jabez  Breed 

Isac  Basset  Isaiah  Breed 

Joseph  Striker  Abijah  Newhall 

Benjamin  B.  Burchsted  Hannah  Breed 
Zaccheus  Collins 

In  the  certificate  of  marriage  which  is  given  in 
this  paper  the  groom  is  described  as  a  blacksmith. 
This  was  a  peculiarly  appropriate  designation,  as  the 
iron  ore  used  in  the  first  iron  works  in  America  was 
taken  from  this  farm.  And  there  were  iron  workers 
in  each  generation  to  his  time.  When  they  outgrew 
the  old  homestead  they  went  to  Salem  and  Marble- 
head,  and  became  makers  of  anchors  and  chains  and 
whatever  in  that  line  appertained  to  the  fitting  of 
the  growing  industry  of  the  maritime  towns. 

Zaccheus  Collins,  the  last  signer,  was  the  noted 
penman  of  Lynn  in  his  time,  and  the  diarist  for 
forty-four  years,  who  is  much  quoted  by  Lewis  in 
his  "History  of  Lynn."  Being  a  Quaker,  his  diary 
is  not  as  piquant  as  that  of  his  English  (nearly) 

68 


CRANBERRY  MEADOW 


of  Old  Lynn 

contemporary,  Samuel  Pepys,  but  perhaps  fully  as 
reliable. 

Many  of  the  other  signers  of  this  instrument  will 
be  remembered  by  their  descendants.  Capt.  Hugh 
Alley,  who  ran  the  first  packet  from  Lynn  to  Boston, 
was  among  them. 

Nehemiah  Breed,  who  signed  early,  as  an  elder  or 
relative,  was  the  son  of  Samuel  Breed,  who  —  Nahant 
being  then  without  an  inhabitant  —  bought  the  land 
and  built  the  house,  in  1717,  where  Whitney's  Hotel 
now  stands.  There,  when  he  signed  this  paper, 
Nehemiah  lived,  and  he  and  Ebenezer  were  the 
north  and  south  poles  of  Lynn  Quakerism  —  the 
extreme  points  of  Nahant  and  Saugus. 

The  English  turnstile  guarded  the  little  by-path 
that  led  to  the  house  through  the  avenue  of  nut- 
trees.  On  the  north  was  the  village  smithy,  and 
beyond  it  was  the  close.  To  the  east,  where  myriads 
of  wild  pigeons  flew,  were  the  great  meadows, 
through  which  flowed  from  the  dark  forests  of 
Lynn  the  limpid  waters  of  the  stream  now  called 
Penny  Brook.  The  only  apparent  occupation  the 
babbling  stream  has  had  to  perform  for  many  years 
has  been  to  shield  from  frost  the  red  acres  of  bright 
cranberries  that  Mr.  Samuel  Hawkes  has  so  zealously 
cultivated.  Few  of  the  world's  people  have  seen  this 
hidden  intervale,  with  its  border  of  pines  and  willows, 
and  great  boulders  that  might  have  been  thrown  into 
the  meadow  in  some  monster  upheaval  of  Nature. 
But  now  all  is  to  be  changed.  The  stream,  which 
since  creation  has  meandered  on  till  it  mingled  with 


Hearths  and  Homes 

old  ocean  in  common  with  the  other  feeders  of  the 
Saugus,  is  to  be  diverted  into  the  omnivorous  throat 
of  the  City  of  Lynn.  And  then,  farewell !  glen  of 
quiet  —  welcome,  pond  of  sweet  water !  May  the 
people  of  Lynn  who  shall  enjoy  the  blessings  of  its 
store  not  forget  those  who  guarded  it  for  many 
generations,  till  the  law  of  eminent  domain  claimed 
it  at  their  hands  for  the  public  good. 

Above  all  other  races  of  men,  our  English  stock, 
emerging  from  the  forests  of  Germany,  leaping  the 
North  Sea  into  Britain,  worshiped  Nature,  and,  like 
Robin  Hood's  outlaws,  executed  justice  in  her  tem- 
ples. One  more  giant  stride  planted  the  virile  seed 
in  the  wilderness  of  New  England.  The  denizens  of 
the  hot-house  life  of  cities  know  not  how  men  grow 
and  broaden  as  they  watch  noble  trees  stretch  out 
their  protecting  arms  as  they  did  over  their  fathers, 
and  as  they  will  over  their  children  after  them. 
Such  training  may  not  fit  men  for  the  fopperies  of 
life,  but  it  makes  reflective,  reasoning  human  beings, 
who  see  something  beyond  the  polish  on  a  man's 
boots  or  the  style  of  his  hat.  There  is  a  vigorous 
oak  tree1  upon  one  of  the  farms  of  this  ancient 
estate,  under  which  some  years  since  several  persons 

1  Some  years  ago  this  veteran  of  the  hillside  was  blown  down  in 
a  wintry  gale. 

Mr.  Henry  F.  Tapley  as  a  child  had,  with  his  parents,  rested 
under  the  shade  of  this  giant  tree.  Out  of  tender  remembrance  of 
the  past,  he  caused  a  portion  of  its  sturdy  trunk  to  be  fashioned 
into  a  frame  for  a  map  of  Lynn  Woods,  which  hangs  upon  the 
walls  of  the  Lynn  Historical  Society's  Rooms,  where  it  may  endure 
as  many  years  as  the  tree  was  growing. 

70 


of  Old  Lynn 

stood.  One  queried,  "  How  old  is  this  tree  ?  "  The 
answer  told  the  story  of  reverence  and  attachment 
that  was  an  augury  of  future  as  well  as  an  assertion 
of  past  possession  —  "  It  is  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  old." 


71 


NOTES    ON    AND    ABOUT    A    SAUGUS    POND. 


' '  Come  back  to  bay-berry  scented  slopes, 

And  fragrant  fern  and  ground  mat  vine ; 
Breathe  airs  blown  over  holt  and  copse 
Sweet  with  black  birch  and  pine." 

]HE  olden-time  oracles  —  the  autocrats  of  our 
ubiquitous  shoemakers'  shops  —  are  vanish- 
ing figures,  soon  to  be  seen  no  more.  The 
noise  and  confusion  of  modern  machinery  has  robbed 
us  of  the  picturesque  and  contemplative  figures  of 
other  days.  A  few  of  these  unique  philosophers  still 
linger  upon  our  borders  beyond  the  smoke  of  city 
factories.  One  such,  an  old  Lynner,  the  bearer  of 
one  of  our  oldest  names,  to  which  he  does  no  dis- 
credit, has  much  interested  the  writer.  He  is  not  a 
hermit,  nor  a  recluse,  though  he  lives  alone.  He 
weekly  comes  to  Lynn  to  bring  in  his  set  of  hand- 
made shoes.  His  abode  is  one  of  the  ancient  shops, 
somewhat  larger  than  the  common  type.  It  serves 
him  for  a  dormitory,  dining-hall,  work-room,  museum 
of  curiosities  and  reception-room.  Under  his  white 
hair  is  a  wealth  of  knowledge  of  past  and  present. 
He  is  specially  strong  on  Lynn  pedigrees.  His  abode 
is  pleasantly  situated  upon  the  headwaters  of  Prank- 
er's  Pond,  and  is  reached  by  as  romantic  a  walk 
from  Saugus  Centre  as  youthful  lovers  or  plodding 

73 


Hearths  and  Homes 

seniors  can  find  in  a  day's  journey.  Up  this  pine- 
embowered,  rock-shadowed,  water-bounded  path  many 
a  town  father  and  village  worthy  wend  their  way  as 
far  as  this  wayside  reminder  of  other  days. 

Though  scarcely  a  house  is  in  the  range  of  vision, 
save  the  dwelling  on  the  same  place,  where  some  of 
his  kin  reside,  at  no  season  can  this  be  a  lonesome 
place,  for  in  summer  the  disciples  of  Izaak  Walton 
resort  to  the  lily-padded  pond  in  the  vain  search  for 
the  venerable  pickerel  that  tradition  says  is  to  be 
found  in  some  deep  recess.  In  winter  the  same 
persevering  anglers  cast  their  lines  through  the  ice, 
and  occasionally  a  snow  trotting-park  is  to  be  seen. 
Nature  in  summer  is  full  of  sound  of  bird,  of  bee, 
of  insect,  of  soughing  pines,  of  murmuring  brooks 
and  of  voices  innumerable.  In  winter  there  is  oft- 
times  an  almost  uncanny  stillness.  Yet  upon  this 
pond  in  this  deathly  silence,  on  the  glassy  track, 
under  the  winter's  dull  sky,  there  will  come  a  crash 
-not  the  down-pouring  of  heaven's  artillery,  not 
like  the  rattle  of  musketry,  but  rather  the  sullen 
opening  of  a  cannonade.  The  hills  on  the  east  catch 
the  sound,  and  the  echo  rebounds  against  the  rocky 
wall  across  the  pond.  The  Saugus  River  is  raising 
the  ice,  air-holes  are  formed,  and  the  north  wind, 
aided  by  water,  ice,  air  and  sound,  is  playing  its 
tricks  with  Nature,  hitherto  so  pale  and  motionless. 
This  devious  path,  entered  by  way  of  Appleton 
Street  and  Appleton's  pulpit,  is  well  worth  the  atten- 
tion of  the  few  who  are  not  the  slaves  of  fashion  and 
vanity.  Why  is  it  that  a  vast  majority  of  our  people 

74 


of  Old  Lynn 

can  see  nothing  in  life,  save  a  sordid  grasping  for 
dollars  and  a  silly  display  of  the  fact  that  they  have 
succeeded  in  the  scramble?  What  do  they  enjoy? 
A  pair  of  docked-tail  horses,  a  lolling  woman  clad  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  a  pug  dog  and  a  funeral  pro- 
cession round  the  stereotyped,  society-dictated  drive 
through  Swampscott.  Yonder  is  a  beetled  cliff,  upon 
which  Helen  MacGregor  might  have  appeared  and 
checked  our  advance  with,  "  Stand  and  tell  me  what 
ye  seek  in  MacGregor's  country."  Down  these  glades 
to  the  music  of  the  bagpipes  the  plaided  followers  of 
Rob  Roy  might  have  marched.  The  scenery  at  your 
very  doors,  good  people  of  Lynn,  is  as  romantic  and 
attractive  as  that  of  bonnie  Scotland.  It  only  needs 
the  touch  of  some  Wizard  of  the  North  —  some 
Walter  Scott  —  to  people  it  with  creations  that  will 
live  forever. 

The  people  who  first  used  this  way  after  the  white 
settlement  were  utilitarians,  however.  To  them  the 
woods  were  full  of  demons  rather  than  fairies. 
Hard-headed,  practical  yeomen,  they  builded  better 
than  they  knew,  for  they  unwittingly,  as  early  as 
1706,  created  parks  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
forever.  It  was  in  this  wise :  The  town  divided 
the  common  lands  in  "Seven  Divisions."  The  first 
division  began  on  the  west  side  of  Saugus  River, 
including  what  was  then  and  is  now  called  the 
"Six  Hundred  Acres,"  which  were  then  in  Lynn. 
This  tract  of  land  has  exactly  the  same  appearance 
it  had  when  the  old  Puritan  first  looked  upon  it. 
Once  in  a  generation  the  woodman's  ax  despoils  it 

75 


Hearths  and  Homes 

and  lays  bare  the  masses  of  primeval  porphyry.  But 
in  a  few  brief  years  Nature  hides  the  rude  scars 
and  the  hills  are  covered  with  hardy  New  England 
trees.  This  is  the  vote  of  that  remote  day  which 
kept  the  forest  intact  and  unvexed  by  walls  or 
enclosures  :  "  The  towne  considering  the  great  diffi- 
culty of  laying  out  highways  on  the  common  lands, 
by  reason  of  the  swamps,  hills,  and  rockenes  of  the 
land,  theirfore  voated,  that  after  said  common  lands 
shall  be  divided,  every  person  interested  therein, 
shall  have  free  liberty  at  all  times,  to  pass  and 
repass  over  each  others'  lotts  of  lands,  to  fetch  their 
wood  and  such  other  things  as  shall  be  upon  their 
lands,  in  any  place  or  places,  and  for  no  other  ends, 
provided  they  do  not  downe  any  sort  of  tree  or  trees 
in  their  so  passing  over." 

Lott  Edmands,  through  his  wife,  the  daughter  of 
one  John  Burrill,  was  the  owner  for  the  larger  part 
of  the  present  century  of  this  estate,  which  was 
known  as  the  Burrill  Place.  Mr.  Edmands  was  one 
of  the  characters  of  Saugus  of  the  past,  and  it  was 
the  ambition  of  the  late  celebrated  Joseph  Ames,  the 
artist,  to  paint  his  typical  Yankee  head.  The  old 
man,  however,  was  fonder  of  relating  his  prowess 
in  litigation  than  in  posing  for  posterity,  and  so  the 
picture  was  lost.  Something  stronger  than  accident 
must  have  drawn  Mr.  Edmands  to  this  locality.  The 
very  air  hereabout  is  redolent  of  disputations.  This 
apparently  calm  and  innocent  pond  has  been  the 
promoter  of  lawsuits  innumerable  from  the  earliest 
days. 

76 


of  Old  Lynn 

Adam  Hawkes,  the  first  settler,  harried  the  Iron 
Works'  proprietors,  for  flowing  his  lands  in  North 
Saugus,  down  to  his  death,  in  1671.  Then  the  Iron 
Works  were  worked  out,  and  a  hundred  years  later, 
in  1770,  just  above  the  old  site,  Joseph  Hawkes,  the 
descendant  of  the  former  flooded  land  owner,  became 
himself  the  flower  by  building  a  dam  and  a  grist- 
mill and  saw-mill  where  the  present  Pranker's  dam 
stands.  Down  from  generation  to  generation  the 
lawsuits  and  contentions  went  on,  till  in  the  fulness 
of  time  Lott  Edmands  came  upon  the  scene  to  revel 
through  life  with  the  mill  owners  in  a  series  of 
forensic  sparring  matches.  Here  to  a  green  old 
age  he  lived,  and  his  greatest  pleasure  was  to  fight 
his  battles  over  again  as  he  looked  out  upon  his 
land  which  he  had  contested  with  the  water  from 
below. 

This  was  not  the  residence  of  the  law-loving 
Mr.  Edmands.  His  home  was  the  house  occupied 
by  Daniel  Hitchings  in  the  Revolutionary  period,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  north,  still  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  serpentine  Saugus.  The  old  house  upon  this 
place  is  an  oddity  in  the  country.  In  the  seaport 
towns  it  was  common  to  build  houses  three  stories 
in  height,  or  rather  two  stories  with  a  demi-story 
above.  Salem,  Newburyport  and  Portsmouth  are 
full  of  such.  This  one  is  sui  generis.  There  is 
nothing  like  it  in  prosaic  life.  In  romance  it  may 
remind  the  admirers  of  Miss  Woolson's  "Anne"  of 
Jeanne  Armande's  half -house.  Its  secluded  location 
and  concurring  circumstances  gave  occasion  for  the 

77 


Hearths  and  Homes 

suspicion  not  so  many  years  ago  that  it  was  occupied 
by  tenants,  who  in  the  unfrequented  wilds  of  the 
South  are  called  "Moonshiners."  To-day,  however, 
the  honest  yeoman's  waving  corn  is  in  no  danger 
of  passing  through  the  illicit  still. 

The  half-house  obstructs  somewhat  the  northern 
view  from  our  point  of  vantage.  Still  we  can  see 
beyond  the  Newburyport  Turnpike  —  beyond  the 
pleasant  western  intervale  of  Oaklandvale,  with  its 
perennial  silver  stream,  Crystal  Brook  —  up  into  this 
grand  old  forest,  behind  which  the  sun  sets,  up 
to  Breakheart  Hill,  beyond  which  stands  that  impos- 
ing promontory,  Castle  Hill,  which  marks  the  line 
between  Middlesex  and  Essex,  and  is  the  highest 
landmark  in  Southern  Essex. 


78 


THE  IRON  WORKS   MANSION. 


PERSON  interested  in  the  lives,  manners 
and  habits  of  the  earlier  days  —  the  tenants, 
the  houses  and  the  land  around  them  —  is 
often  amazed  at  the  utter  callousness  with  which 
men  walk  about  in  dead  men's  shoes  and  sleep  in 
dead  men's  beds.  Men  seem  to  wholly  ignore  the 
history  of  domestic  surroundings. 

They  ask  not  what  other  eyes  have  looked  upon 
scenes  familiar  to  themselves.  Every  roof -tree  that 
has  weathered  the  changing  seasons  of  centuries  of 
life  has  overlooked  all  the  varied  phases  of  human 
existence. 

There  is  a  house  in  Saugus  that  the  tyro  in  the 
study  of  Colonial  architecture  detects  at  a  glance 
as  a  specimen  of  the  early,  better-class  houses.  Its 
antiquity  and  its  quality  are  not  disguised  by  the 
fact  that  its  present  owner,  Mr.  A.  A.  Scott,  and 
the  town  assessors,  distinguish  it  only  by  the  com- 
monplace name  of  "the  Tim  Davis  house."  The 
massive,  many-angled  chimney,  the  projection  of 
the  upper  story  over  the  lower  (not  hidden  by  the 
modern  piazza)  infallibly  point  to  the  fact  that  its 
builder  was  familiar  with  such  houses  in  England  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  The  house  of  Governor 
Coddington,  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  believed  to  have  been 

79 


Hearths  and  Homes 

built  in  1650,  identical  in  the  shape  of  the  stack  of 
chimneys,  and  even  in  the  number  of  windows  in 
the  front,  was  standing  until  crowded  out  by  the 
growth  of  the  town.  Buildings  of  this  description 
still  remain  in  Holborn  and  other  parts  of  London. 

Fortunately  for  the  lovers  of  Puritan  days,  this 
one  has  been  allowed  to  remain,  albeit  its  master  no 
longer  occupies  it,  and  it  has  been  stripped  of  much 
of  its  fair  environment ;  and  its  once  aristocratic 
front  door,  from  which  such  old-time  worthies  as 
Simon  Bradstreet  looked  upon  smiling  fields,  now 
opens  upon  the  back  yards  of  baser  buildings.  We 
should  know  the  period  of  its  construction  and  the 
kind  of  men  who  erected  it  even  if  we  knew  nothing 
of  its  history  and  nothing  of  the  tragedies  and  come- 
dies of  real  life  that  have  been  acted  within  its  walls. 
However,  we  do  know  something  of  its  happenings. 

The  archives  of  the  early  courts  indicate  that  it 
was  "  the  last  and  usual  place  of  abode  "  where  legal 
processes  innumerable  were  served,  so  that  the  horse 
of  the  marshal  of  Essex  County  knew  the  way  to 
it  as  well  as  to  his  master's  barn.  This  house  is 
on  the  western  side  of  Central  Street,  opposite  the 
"  Cinder  Banks."  It  is  about  fifty  feet  from  the 
present  street,  which  it  wholly  ignores  as  it  stands 
in  due  and  regular  form  facing  the  south.  Its  east- 
ern side  outlook  commanded  the  "  Iron  Works,"  the 
primeval  forest,  the  winding  river  of  Saugus,  and 
the  bay  beyond.  It  is  probably  the  oldest  surviving 
specimen  of  a  Colonial  house  within  the  territory  of 
the  original  Town  of  Lynn.  It  is  a  good  example 

80 


of  Old  Lynn 

of  the  better  class  house  of  the  first  settlers.  Read- 
ers who  revere  the  fathers  of  Massachusetts  as  the 
wisest  and  best  men  of  the  good  old  English  stock 
know  what  such  a  house  was.  Others  can  see  it 
for  themselves. 

The  plateau  upon  which  stands  this  spared  monu- 
ment of  Colonial  days  was  as  fair  a  spot,  in  its 
primitive  aspect,  as  Puritan  eyes  looked  upon  in 
the  whole  sweep  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  sharp 
but  uneasy  Thomas  Dexter  —  the  same  who  bought 
Nahant  of  Black  Will  for  a  suit  of  clothes  ;  the  same 
choleric  person  who  was  so  little  a  respecter  of  dig- 
nitaries as  to  assault  Governor  Endicott ;  the  same 
roving  spirit  who  was  a  leader  among  the  "  ten  men 
of  Saugus,"  who  founded  Sandwich  in  1637  —  was 
the  first  owner  of  the  soil  hereabout,  as  civilized 
states  occupy  the  land  as  opposed  to  Nomads  and 
Nationalists. 

The  very  first  paper  recorded  in  the  Registry  of 
Deeds  at  Salem  has  an  interest  from  its  quaintness, 
from  its  connection  with  this  place,  from  the  parties 
to  it,  the  one,  notorious  Dexter,  the  other,  noted 
Bradstreet,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  more. 

THE  RECORDS  OF  SALEM  1640. 

Book  1,  Page  1. 

Thomas  Dexter  of  Lyn,  yeoman,  by  his  deed  dated 
[22d  of  Octr]  1639,  hath  morgaged  his  fearme  in  Lyn 
conteyning  about  [  ]  acres  with  all  his  howses, 
meadows  and  broken  [  ]  grounds  thereon  for  two 
oxen  &  2  bulls  upon  condition  of  payment  to  Symon 

81 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Broadstreet  of  Ipswich  [  ]  90£  the  first  day  of 
August  then  next  following  with  a  reservation  upon 
the  sale  of  the  said  fearme  to  give  the  said  Dexter 
the  overplus  above  the  debt  and  damages  of  the 
said  90£. 

We  copy  the  paper  as  it  is  in  the  Registry ;  it  is 
not  the  mortgage  itself,  but  a  sort  of  caveat  or 
notice,  to  whomever  it  might  concern,  that  such  a 
claim  was  in  existence.  It  was  made  two  years 
before  any  law  required  such  instruments  to  be 
recorded,  before  the  adoption  by  the  General  Court 
of  the  Body  of  Liberties  of  1641.  It  was  fifty  years 
after  Farmer  Dexter  bought  his  two  oxen  and  two 
bulls  with  Mr.  Bradstreet's  money  upon  the  security 
of  the  land  when  the  Governor  finally  released  his 
claim  upon  the  Iron  Works  farm.  Well  might  he 
write  his  release  "  from  the  beginning  of  the  world." 
The  claim  was  from  the  beginning  of  the  new  world 
-  the  Puritan  world. 

Then  the  village  of  Hammersmith,  with  its  forge 
and  foundry,  with  its  noise  and  smoke  and  brawny 
men  and  men  of  brain,  came  from  Old  England 
to  work  the  bog  ore  of  the  neighborhood  into  the 
precious  metal,  iron.  Then  came  Richard  Leader 
Gent,  Agent  of  "ye  company  of  undertakers  of  ye 
Iron  Works,"  and  built  his  house  so  well  and  strong 
and  sound  that  in  spite  of  neglect  and  ill-usage  it 
has  survived  the  fortunes  and  families  of  many 
generations  of  tenants.  It  has  stood  so  long  that 
the  industry  which  caused  its  erection  has  left 
behind  it  only  dim  tradition  of  its  existence  and  a 

82 


of  Old  Lynn 

pile  of  scoria  upon  the  river's  bank,  which,  to  the 
stranger,  appears  as  much  the  work  of  Nature  as 
yonder  jasper-bedded  Round  Hill. 

In  the  conveyance  to  Leader  the  figures  indicate 
the  date  when  he,  fresh  from  London,  began  to 
improve  the  Works  and  to  build  his  house  in  Farmer 
Dexter's  corn  field.  Here  is  the  record  :  - 

THE  RECORDS  OF  SALEM  1640. 

Book  1,  Page  4 
25,  1,  1646. 

Thomas  Dexter  of  Lyn  in  the  County  of  Essex 
ye[oman]  for  the  sum  of  40£  st[erling]  hath  sowld 
unto  Richard  Leder  for  ye  use  of  the  Iron  works 
all  that  land,  wch  by  reason  of  [a]  damme  now 
agreed  to  be  made,  shall  overflow  and  all  sufficient 
ground  for  a  water  course  from  the  damme,  to  the 
works  to  be  erected,  and  alsoe  all  [the]  land  betwene 
the  an[cient]  water  course  and  the  new  extended 
flume  or  water  course  togeather  with  five  acres  and 
an  halfe  of  land  lying  in  the  corn  field  most  conven- 
ient for  the  Iron  Works  and  also  tooe  convenient 
cartwayes  that  is  to  one  on  each  side  of  the  prem- 
ises as  by  a  deed  indented  bearing  date  the  twentie 
seaventh  of  January,  1645,  more  at  lardge  apth. 

The  very  names  of  some  of  its  owners  have  been 
almost  forgotten,  but  Samuel  Hayman  was  a  Coun- 
cilor in  1692  in  the  first  year  under  the  Provincial 
Charter  of  William  and  Mary.  Later  he  held  the 
same  office  under  the  able,  adroit,  scheming  Governor 
Joseph  Dudley.  In  1686  Samuel  and  Nathan  Hay- 
man owned  "the  Mansion  House  and  Iron  Works 
farm."  Then  other  names  of  more  than  ordinary, 

83 


Hearths  and  Homes 

more  than  Colonial,  fame  are  connected  with  the 
place.  The  venerable  Simon  Bradstreet,  Governor 
of  the  Colony  (before  and  after  the  Andros  usurpa- 
tion) held  the  same  under  a  mortgage,  which  on 
February  15,  1688,  he  released  "with  all  claims  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world,"  to  Samuel  Appleton, 
Sen.  and  Jr.  The  magistrate  before  whom  the 
release  was  made  was  Waitt  Winthrop. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  at  this  period  —  or 
from  the  day  of  the  deposition  of  Andros,  April  19, 
1689,  till  the  arrival  of  Sir  William  Phips,  May  14, 
1692  —  Massachusetts  enjoyed  its  only  three  years 
prior  to  the  American  Revolution  of  pure  and  abso- 
lute freedom,  independent  alike  of  Crown  or  Parlia- 
ment. It  was  a  government  deriving  all  its  powers 
from  the  people.  When  men  talk  of  the  sturdy 
qualities  of  races  let  them  recall  the  fact  that  the 
Puritan,  Simon  Bradstreet  of  Salem,  the  Nicias  of 
New  England,  who  was  called  by  universal  approval 
to  be  Governor,  was  eighty-seven  years  of  age  when 
he  took  the  office.  The  witchcraft  historians  agree 
that  if  he  had  not  been  superseded  by  the  arrival 
of  the  Royal  Charter,  in  1692,  the  witchcraft  prose- 
cutions would  have  failed.  The  veneration  of  the 
people  and  his  own  mental  powers  at  ninety  years, 
save  for  foreign  interference,  would  have  spared 
our  people  that  dark  horror. 

Samuel  Appleton,  the  elder  grantee,  was  the  Indian 
fighter  and,  a  few  years  later,  Witchcraft  Judge. 
The  younger  Appleton  occupied  the  house. 

Then  James  Taylor,  an  opulent  merchant  of  Boston, 

84 


of  Old  Lynn 

by  numerous  conveyances  and  releases,  obtained  title 
and  possession  of  "that  farm  and  tract  of  land, 
anciently  purchased  of  Thomas  Dexter  and  others." 
Here  James  Taylor  lived  in  Colonial  grandeur  and 
died  when  his  time  came. 

It  almost  seems  as  if  there  was  such  a  quality 
as  transmitted  proneness  to  litigation  in  certain 
localities.  Farmer  Dexter's  fondness  for  strife  left 
behind  him  as  an  inheritance  for  the  Iron  Works 
unceasing  legal  dispute  with  the  settlers  and  with 
creditors.  Major  Thomas  Savage,  of  Boston,  the 
famous  Indian  fighter,  was  familiar  with  this  house, 
and  when  Mr.  John  Gifford  was  agent  of  the  com- 
pany, in  1653,  he  attached  its  property,  including 
the  Mansion  House,  and  obtained  a  large  judgment 
against  it.  After  the  decease  of  Mr.  James  Taylor 
the  demon  of  Dexter's  unrest  still  lurked  about  the 
scene,  and  not  content  with  the  ordinary  forms  of 
litigation,  it  raised  a  storm  over  the  will  of  Mr. 
Taylor,  and  caused  the  General  Court  to  pass,  in 
1719  and  1721,  several  Special  Acts  authorizing  his 
widow,  Rebecca,  and  after  her  decease,  her  son, 
William,  to  keep  up  a  legal  warfare  with  one  Chris- 
topher Taylor  of  Boston,  who  was  Mr.  Taylor's  elder 
son,  presumably  by  another  wife.  William  prevailed 
and  remained  here,  though  he  parted  with  the  Man- 
sion House  to  Daniel  Mansfield,  of  Boston  Street, 
Lynn,  and  his  grandson,  Thomas  Mansfield.  Judge 
Samuel  Sewall's  Diary,  published  by  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society  [vol.  3,  p.  94],  under  date, 
1716,  July  29,  relates  :  - 

85 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"  Last  night  Mr.  Treasurer  Taylor  died  at  his  house 
in  Lin.  The  corps  was  brought  in  a  Horse-Litter  to 
the  Ferry.  From  the  Ferry  to  his  House  in  Town." 

"  Augt.  2.  To  Cambridge  again  by  reason  of  the 
Admiralty ;  so  lost  Dr.  C.  Mather's  Lecture.  Came 
home  time  enough  to  the  Funeral  of  Mr.  Treasurer 
Taylor.  Bearers,  Lt.  Govr.  Mr.  Winthrop ;  Sewall, 
Mr.  Eliakim  Hutchinson ;  Mr.  John  Burrill,  Speaker, 
Mr.  Treasurer  Allen.  Skarfs  and  Gloves.  No  Rings 
nor  Escutcheons.  I  saw  no  Ministers  at  the  house 
but  Mr.  Shepard  and  Mr.  Wadsworth :  They  had 
Scarvs." 

James  Taylor  was  Treasurer  of  the  Province  from 
June  17,  1693,  to  June  25,  1714. 

From  1693  to  the  Revolution  only  four  persons 
held  the  office ;  viz.,  Taylor,  Allen,  William  Foye 
and  Harrison  Gray.  On  Taylor's  retirement  the  fol- 
lowing vote  was  passed  :  - 

COUNCIL  RECORDS. 

Dec.  24,  1715. 

To  Mr.  James  Taylor,  the  sum  of  Ninety  pounds 
in  consideration  of  his  good  and  faithfull  service  for 
many  years  as  Treasurer  of  this  Province,  and  his 
frequently  advancing  his  own  money  in  the  publick 
affairs  and  the  considerable  loss  he  has  sustained  in 
the  execution  of  that  Office. 

Two  sons,  Christopher  and  William,  and  six  daugh- 
ters survived  their  father,  James.  Of  the  sons, 
Christopher  seems  never  to  have  married ;  at  least 
his  will  leaves  all  his  property  to  his  natural  son, 
Charles  Taylor,  son  of  his  servant,  Anne  Bell. 


of  Old  Lynn 

William  Taylor,  of  Lynn,  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Burrill.  He  had  two  daughters  only ;  viz., 
Rebecca,  who  married  her  second  cousin,  Timothy 
Orne,  and  Anne,  who  married  Benjamin  Parker,  of 
Lynn. 

James  Taylor's  will  was  proved  August  21,  1716. 
The  inventory  of  his  estate  has  in  the  list  of  personal 
property  some  curious  items  :  - 

"  A  man  servt.  10£ 
a  boy  10£ 

A  maid  5£ 

An  old  infirm  negro  man   6£  =  31£  " 

Also  219  ounces  of  sterling  silver  plate  at  8  shillings 
=  £83  12s. 

William  Taylor's  inventory,  made  in  1769,  among 
the  live  stock  appraises  a  "negro  man  Ben  10£." 
Slaves  in  Massachusetts  were  not  rated  as  very 
valuable. 

William  Taylor  was  blessed  with  daughters,  but 
no  son,  so  the  surname  was  lost,  and  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  lands  descended  to  the  name  of  Parker, 
through  the  marriage  of  Anna  Taylor.  The  spirit  of 
contention  appears  to  have  been  exorcised  upon  the 
advent  of  Thomas  Mansfield,  though  his  family  be- 
came mourners  by  his  untimely  death,  caused  by  a 
fall  from  his  horse.  The  widow,  however,  became 
somewhat  reconciled,  for  she  had  changed  her  name 
to  Cheever  before  his  estate  was  settled. 

In  the  time  of  the  first  Thomas  Mansfield  this 
was  the  centre  of  life  in  the  old  town,  for  he  had 

87 


Hearths  and  Homes 

a  clothier's  shop,  a  fulling-mill,  a  dye-house,  an  "  arch 
house  or  vault,"  a  grist-mill,  "and  the  conveniency 
of  the  stream,"  as  well  as  a  cider-mill.  At  the  time 
his  inventory  was  filed,  October  27, 1758,  the  value  of 
slaves  seems  to  have  increased,  as  his  negro  woman 
and  child  are  appraised  at  forty  pounds.  Under  the 
will  of  his  father,  who  died  the  same  year,  Thomas, 
or  his  estate,  came  into  possession  of  the  "  negro  boy 
CaBsar."  By  the  same  will  the  "  negro  man  servant 
Pompey"  became  a  freedman.  Pompey  was  the 
most  noted  slave  in  Lynn,  reputed  to  have  been  a 
prince  in  Africa.  He  made  his  home  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Mansfield  family  in  a  sunny  glade 
across  the  river.  Besides  his  lands,  mills  and  slaves, 
Thomas  Mansfield  received  under  the  will  of  his 
father,  Daniel  Mansfield,  Esq.,  the  treasured  cane  of 
his  great-grandfather,  Andrew  Mansfield,  the  first 
Town  Clerk  of  Lynn,  as  well  as  the  first  and  last 
person  here,  designated  Sergeant,  as  the  English  call 
pleaders  at  the  bar.  Its  modern  name  results  from 
the  fact  that  Sally,  daughter  of  the  third  Thomas 
Mansfield,  happened  to  marry  Capt.  Timothy  Davis, 
from  whom  its  title  passed  to  Mr.  Scott,1  who  has  so 
many  houses  that  he  allows  the  name  to  remain 
when  the  substance  has  vanished. 

The  building  of  the  bridge  at  East  Saugus  very 
soon  diverted  the  course  of  colonial  travel  between 

1  Mr.  Andrew  A.  Scott,  long  an  active  factor  in  the  business, 
social  and  religious  life  of  Saugus,  has  deceased  since  this  was 
written.  He  carried  on  the  woolen  manufacturing  business  at 
Scott's  mills  under  the  name  of  F.  Scott  &  Son. 


of  Old  Lynn 

Ipswich  and  Salem  and  Boston  from  the  way  by  this 
house,  but  a  large  sum  of  the  world's  history  has 
been  discussed  upon  the  high-backed  settle  by  its 
huge  fire-place  as  the  events  transpired.  The  prin- 
cipal promoter  of  the  Iron  Works,  the  worshipful 
Capt.  Robert  Bridges,  speaker  of  the  House  of  Depu- 
ties of  the  Colony,  lived  near  by,  and  came  often 
to  discuss  with  its  master  the  progress  of  the  won- 
derful career  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 

The  occupants  of  this  house  were  parishioners  of 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Shepard,  and  rejoiced  when  the  coun- 
try rose  and  imprisoned  and  sent  back  to  England 
Sir  Edmund  Andros,  after  the  deposition  of  the  last 
of  the  Stuarts.  The  house  was  almost  a  century  old 
when  the  Massachusetts  provincial  troops  electrified 
England  by  the  capture  of  the  French  Gibraltar, 
Louisburg,  in  1745.  It  was  venerable  when  the  men 
of  Essex  and  Middlesex  met  the  Briton  on  Lexington 
Green,  April  19,  1775,  and  Thomas  Mansfield  went 
forth  from  its  shelter  to  do  a  patriot's  part  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution. 

It  was  bearing  up  bravely  under  a  century  and 
three-quarters  of  life  when  the  Corsican  Bandit  lost 
the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  and  Capt.  Richard  Mansfield 
became  first  clerk  of  the  newly-incorporated  Town  of 
Saugus  in  1815. 


THE  VINEGAR  HILL  CIRCUIT. 


"To  one  who  has  been  long  in  city  pent, 
"Pis  very  sweet  to  look  into  the  fair 
And  open  face  of  heaven. ' ' 

—  Keats. 

|N  the  vicinity  of  Saugus  River,  in  a  circle  of 
which  Vinegar  Hill  is  the  centre,  cluster 
spots  which  history,  legend  and  romance 
associate  with  the  early  days. 

The  Pirates'  Glen,  weird  and  grewsome  by  reason 
of  its  association  with  the  secrets  of  lawless  men, 
and  dark,  hidden  and  damp  even  when  the  mid- 
summer sun  is  in  the  zenith,  lies  towards  East 
Saugus  from  the  summit  of  the  hill. 

The  Pirates'  Lookout  is  a  spur  of  the  same  range 
of  felsite  rocks,  from  the  summit  of  which  the  free- 
booters scanned  the  sea  beyond  the  Point  of  Pines 
and  Nahant  for  the  sails  of  the  black-hulled  craft 
that  was  expected  to  bear  them  away  from  the 
restraints  of  the  land  to  the  freedom  and  license  of 
life  on  the  ocean  wave.  Instead  of  which  appeared 
the  proud  ensign  —  the  Union  Jack  —  of  the  mistress 
of  the  seas  and  bore  the  doomed  men  away  to  the 
condign  punishment  of  English  justice.  The  men 
have  been  in  their  unknown  graves  for  centuries, 
but  sentimental  feet  yet  tread  the  beaten  track  that 

91 


Hearths  and  Homes 

leads"  down  into  the  gloomy  retreat,  shut  in  by  the 
everlasting  walls  of  porphyry. 
As  the  point  of  the  compass  moves  round  westerly 


from  the  Glen,  it  intercepts  a  sunny  glade  between 
the  gleaming  river  and  the  forest-covered  hill.  Here 
lived  and  died  the  freedman,  Pompey,  said  to  have 
been  a  king  in  Africa.  He  was  freed  by  the  will 

92 


of  Old  Lynn 

of  Daniel  Mansfield  in  1757.  The  little  nook  of  land 
conveyed  to  him  under  the  name  of  Pompey  Mans- 
field contains  two  acres,  and  the  stone  walls  around 
it  and  the  little  gambrel-roofed  house  are  still  there. 
Mr.  Lewis  says  :  - 

"  Every  year,  during  his  life,  the  slaves,  not  only 
of  Lynn,  but  of  Boston,  Salem  and  the  neighboring 
towns,  obtained  leave  of  their  masters,  for  one  day 
to  visit  King  Pompey.  This  to  them  was  a  day  of 
real  happiness.  Far  from  the  eye  of  their  masters, 
they  collected  on  a  little  glade  by  the  river  side,  and 
fancied  themselves  for  a  few  short  hours,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Gambia.  Each  youth  on  his  way  gath- 
ered wreaths,  and  each  maiden,  flowers,  of  which 
they  formed  a  crown  to  place  on  the  head  of  their 
acknowledged  prince.  The  old  men  talked  of  the 
happy  days  they  had  seen  in  their  native  land  and 
called  to  mind  the  wives  and  children  of  their  earlier 
years ;  while  the  youths  and  the  maidens  wandered 
along  the  river  side,  or  strayed  through  the  forest, 
and  exchanged  smiles  and  formed  dreams  of  happi- 
ness which  the  future  did  not  fulfil." 

Beyond  the  Pompey  place  is  a  magnificent  tract 
of  white  pine,  the  like  of  which  an  old  woodsman 
said  he  had  not  looked  upon  this  side  of  New 
Hampshire.  This  same  spot  is  understood  to  have 
given  title  to  one  of  the  Lynn  bard's  most  ambitious 
poems.  He  prefaced  it  with  this  glowing  tribute  to 
the  locality  that  inspired  it :  - 

"Thou  must  know,  gentle  reader,  that  the  name 
of  Shady  Grove  is  not  an  invention  of  the  poet's 

93 


Hearths  and  Homes 

fancy,  but  the  appellation  of  a  place  as  fertile  as 
the  valley  of  Agra,  beneath  whose  embowering  trees 
glides  a  rivulet  delightful  as  Yarrow ;  a  scene  that 
need  only  have  echoed  to  the  harp  of  Hafiz  or  of 
Burns  to  become  associated  with  the  dearest  ideas 
of  memory  and  love." 

The  stately  proportions  of  Round  Hill,  over  the 
river,  are  mirrored  in  the  placid  water  as  twilight 
comes  on.  This  hill,  so  fair  to  look  upon,  captivated 
that  scientific  dissector  of  earth's  properties,  Prof. 
Edward  Hitchcock.  He  had  it  engraved  for  his 
great  work,  "The  Geology  of  Massachusetts."  He 
thus  speaks  of  its  hidden  treasures :  - 

"  JASPER.  —  This  mineral,  reckoned  among  the  pre- 
cious stones  by  the  ancients,  is  not  uncommon  with 
the  porphyry  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 
Saugus  has  long  been  known  as  its  principal  locality. 
Specimens  from  that  place,  are  indeed,  more  beauti- 
ful than  any  which  I  have  met  with  from  other  parts 
of  the  State,  though,  were  I  writing  the  scientific 
history  of  the  mineral,  I  might  be  permitted  to  doubt 
whether  it  is  the  genuine  jasper  of  mineralogists. 
But  as  it  greatly  resembles  true  jasper,  it  may,  with- 
out practical  error  be  considered  such.  Its  color  is 
red  and  sometimes  it  is  traversed  by  a  white  vein, 
which  makes  it  resemble  the  striped  jasper  of 
Egypt." 

Again  the  moving  point  of  the  divider  sweeps 
around  the  circle,  and  now  it  strikes,  still  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  the  bed  of  scoria,  so  inter- 
esting to  students  of  the  earlier  days,  known  to  the 

94 


of  Old  Lynn 

villagers  as  the  "Cinder  Banks."  It  crosses  the 
river  to  the  east  bank,  over  the  fording  place  of 
the  fathers,  and  pushing  on  to  the  north  rests  upon 
Choose  Hill  and  on  its  abandoned  road,  traversed 
two  centuries  ago  by  the  farmers  of  Lynnfield  on 
their  pious  way  to  and  from  the  old  church  on  Lynn 
Common.  The  name  is  a  reminder  of  a  controversy 
which  was  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  the  old  Town 
of  Lynn  —  the  first  step  which  led  up  in  later  years 
to  the  creation,  first  of  the  Town  of  Lynnfield,  and 
second  of  the  Town  of  Saugus.  For  seventy  years 
all  the  people  had  worshiped  as  one  parish.  The 
hardship  of  the  long  miles  from  Lynnfield  to  Lynn 
bore  upon  the  out-dwellers.  A  committee  represent- 
ing the  three  sections  which  we  know  as  Lynn, 
Saugus  and  Lynnfield  attempted  to  choose  a  site 
for  the  meeting-house  which  should  be  reasonably 
convenient  for  all.  They  selected  this  now  wooded 
hill  as  about  equally  distant  from  each  locality. 
Lynn  objected.  Lynnfield  was  set  off  as  a  parish 
or  district,  November  17,  1712,  and  its  inhabitants 
were  to  be  freed  from  parish  taxes  as  soon  as  a 
meeting-house  should  be  built  and  a  minister  settled. 
This  was  accomplished  in  1715,  and  the  Second  Parish 
of  Lynn  was  duly  organized.  Saugus  later,  in  1738, 
became  the  Third  or  West  Parish. 

The  natural  result  was  that  later  the  two  parishes 
became  towns  —  Lynnfield  in  1814,  and  Saugus  in 
1815.  All  these  things  happened  because  the  people 
of  the  low  lands  of  Lynn  would  not  go  up  to  this 
hill  country  of  Saugus  to  listen  to  the  preaching 

95 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  the  gospel  according  to  Puritanism.    The  name 
"  Choose  "  or  "  Chosen  "  has  remained. 

In  those  days  there  were  several  houses  upon  this 
hill.  The  last  of  the  old  places  disappeared  in  the 
opening  years  of  the  present  century.  It  stood  upon 
the  eastern  declivity  of  the  hill,  not  far  from  where 
the  house  of  Harrison  Wilson  is  now  situated.  Its 
eastern  outlook  was  down  the  valley  which  now  is 
filled  with  the  sparkling  waters  of  Birch  Pond.  Its 
owner  was  John  Knights,  who  was  a  gardener  in  the 
service  of  Landlord  Jacob  Newhall,  of  the  Anchor 
Tavern.  Mr.  B.  F.  Newhall,  the  grandson  of  Land- 
lord Newhall,  in  his  interesting  sketches  of  Saugus, 
written  thirty  years  ago,  says  that  the  old  house 
was  standing  within  his  remembrance.  Mr.  Newhall 
had  lived  to  see  the  extinction  of  the  Knights  family 
and  to  see  the  once  rural  and  happy  home  lapse 
into  the  wilderness. 

It  is  hard  for  the  casual  observer  to  realize  that 
these  oak-covered  hillsides  once  were  dotted  with 
the  abodes  of  men.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
in  the  early  days  of  the  settlement  the  Iron  Works 
was  the  centre  of  the  life  of  the  town.  And  even 
after  that  ceased  operations  its  water  privilege  - 
the  best  in  Lynn  —  was  utilized  for  grist-mills  and 
fulling-mills  down  to  the  present  day,  when  it  is 
used  by  the  woolen  mills  of  Pranker  and  Scott. 

The  early  settlers  came  out  of  the  fen  counties 
of  England.  They  were  tired  of  flat  lands.  They 
passed  by  the  low  plains  of  Lynn  and  built  upon 
sightly  hills.  Later  the  gregarious  habits,  sedentary 

96 


of  Old  Lynn 

pursuits,  such  as  shoemaking,  the  difficulty  of  reap- 
ing adequate  returns  from  hard  soil,  and  the  aban- 
donment of  the  Iron  Works,  gradually  depopulated 
this  territory. 

Now  the  moving  point  passes  through  the  western 
end  of  Birch  Pond,  over  the  site  of  Capt.  Caleb 
Downing's  house,  into  and  through  the  Vinegar  Hill 
Road  that  runs  over  the  highlands  from  Walnut 
Street  to  Hesper  Street.  Here  the  evidences  of 
abandonment  are  plainer  and  more  recent.  Along 
this  road  are  many  acres  of  land,  where  the  aggres- 
sive pitch  pine  has  usurped  the  place  of  the  apple 
orchards  of  the  past.  Possibly  this  may  be  because 
our  people,  under  the  stress  of  legislation,  have 
become  so  temperate  as  to  abjure  the  use  of  the 
product  of  the  cider-mill,  which  in  the  olden  time 
was  a  necessary  part  of  a  well-regulated  farm.  A 
more  probable  reason  is  that  people,  on  account  of 
the  flocking-together  habit  before  alluded  to,  have 
forgotten  their  love  for  pure  air  and  noble  views 
of  land  and  sea,  and  prefer  to  jostle  each  other  in 
crowded  streets  and  stifling  tenements  in  smoky 
cities. 

Almost  round  the  circle,  of  which  the  Glen  was 
the  initial  point,  the  divider  strikes  a  giant  boulder, 
perched  on  top  of  a  rocky  knoll.  This  is  the  Boar's 
Head.  Of  this  marvel  of  the  forces  of  Nature  in 
the  glacial  period  a  story  is  told  which  may  illustrate 
the  survival  in  a  poor,  wrecked  intellect  of  that  love 
of  Nature  and  freedom  which  had  characterized 
his  family.  This  boulder  is  so  steep  and  high  that 

97 


Hearths  and  Homes 

it  can  only  be  ascended  by  a  nimble  young  man 
with  a  printer's  stick.  On  the  level  top  a  noble 
prospect,  embracing  ocean,  forest,  city  and  hamlet, 
rewards  the  toil.  The  rock  once  had  a  strange 
climber.  The  older  people  about  Boston  Street  will 
remember  Oliver  Fuller  Mansfield  with  his  harmless, 
partly  demented,  wandering  ways.  Oliver  was,  of 
course,  a  shoemaker.  One  day  he  was  missed  from 
shop  and  house.  After  more  than  the  ordinary 
length  of  wonted  disappearances  had  passed,  the 
neighborhood  —  say  Federal  Square  of  to-day  —  be- 
came alarmed.  The  country  around  about  was 
searched,  and  after  a  weary  tramp  through  swamps 
and  over  hills  tangled  with  underbrush,  Oliver  was 
espied,  or  rather  heard,  by  the  sound  of  his  hammer 
ringing  upon  the  lapstone,  on  top  of  Boar's  Head, 
with  seat  and  kit,  serenely  at  work ;  fairer  outlook 
no  shoemaker's  shop  ever  had. 

Having  traveled  superficially  round  the  circle  now 
wild  and  natural  as  when  the  red  man  trod  the  same 
single-file  foot-paths  we  tread  to-day,  we  may  seek 
the  central  fixed  point.  We  find  it  mid-way  between 
Vinegar  Hill  and  Choose  Hill.  The  only  heathen 
man  who  now  violates  the  sanctity  of  the  place  is 
the  mercenary  employer  of  the  rude  wood  chopper. 
In  the  annals  of  Lynn,  under  date  1642,  Alonzo  Lewis 
thus  writes :  - 

"  A  great  alarm  was  occasioned  through  the  colony 
by  a  report  that  the  Indians  intended  to  exterminate 
the  English.  The  people  were  ordered  to  keep  a 
watch  from  sunset  to  sunrise,  and  blacksmiths  were 

98 


of  Old  Lynn 

directed  to  suspend  all  other  business  till  the  arms 
of  the  colony  were  repaired.  A  house  was  built  for 
the  soldiers,  and  another,  about  forty  feet  long,  for 
a  safe  retreat  for  the  women  and  children  of  the 
town  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  Indians.  These 
houses  were  within  the  limits  of  Saugus,  about 


M       VUf     <.    f    ~<i    • 

p% 


GARRISON    HOUSE     (Restored) 

eighty  rods  from  the  eastern  boundary,  and  about 
the  same  distance  south  of  Walnut  Street.  The 
cellars  of  both  these  buildings  remain,  and  near 
them,  on  the  east,  is  a  fine  unfailing  spring."1 

1  The  site  of  the  garrison  house,  with  its  never-failing  spring  of 
pure  water,  has  recently  become  a  holding  of  the  Lynn  Historical 
Society,  to  be  forever  preserved  for  historical  and  public  purposes. 
It  was  probably  selected  by  the  early  settlers  as  a  place  of  refuge 

99 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Here  then  was  the  heart  of  Lynn  in  the  very 
infancy  of  its  settlement.  Lynn  to  the  east  along 
Strawberry  Brook,  Saugus  to  the  west  by  the  Saugus 
River,  and  Lynnend,  or  Lynnfield,  to  the  north, 
between  Humfrey's  Pond  and  Lake  Quannapowitt. 
Sixty  years  have  passed  since  Mr.  Lewis  wrote,  but 
the  traces  of  the  cellars  are  there  yet,  and  the  water 
of  the  fern-shaded  spring  is  as  cool  and  invigorating 
in  this  year  of  grace,  1890,  as  it  was  two  hundred 
and  forty-eight  years  ago,  when  the  rude  garrison 
house  was  built  and  the  red  Indian  skulked  in  the 
forest  shadows. 

These  wild  and  romantic  spots  are  all  within  the 
territory  of  Saugus.  One  may  recline  upon  the 
velvety  moss  of  the  crest  of  Vinegar  Hill  and  idly 
look  upon  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  the  gilded  dome 
of  the  State  House,  the  deep  blue  waters  of  the 
Atlantic,  the  dark  forests  or  the  nestling  hamlets  of 
Saugus. 

upon  the  same  plan  that  the  neighboring  eminence,  "Choose  Hill," 
was  mooted  as  a  proper  location  for  the  erection  of  the  parish 
meeting-house  —  that  is,  it  was  a  convenient  rallying  point  for  the 
three  settlements,  Lynn,  Saugus  and  Lynnfield,  which  later  became 
three  parishes  and  then  three  towns. 


100 


THE  ROBY  ELM 


The  famous  Roby  Kim,  which  still  'flourishes  on  the  street  line  of  the  old 
parsonage,  is  said  to  have  been  taken  from  the  woods  by  Mr.  Roby. 

With  the  little  sapling  on  hi.s  shoulder,  the  Parson  reached  home  at  dusk. 
He  stood  the  tree  in  his  front  hall  over  night  and  planted  it  the  next  morning. 

Years,  the  climate  and  the  soil  have  favored  our  noble  New  England  tree. 


REV.  JOSEPH   ROBY  AND   HIS  TIMES. 


"  "Tis  greatly  wise  to  talk  with  our  past  hours 
And  ask  them  what  report  they  gave  to  Heaven.1 


0  EVEN  wander  in  thought  along  the  Saugus 
River  of  the  past  and  not  to  largely  mention 
Parson  Roby  would  be  as  absurd  as  is  the 
trite  saying  in  reference  to  playing  the  story  of 
Hamlet  without  the  Prince  of  Denmark,  for  he  was 
the  spiritual  guide  of  the  people  of  the  West  Parish 
of  Lynn  for  more  than  fifty  years. 

When  Mr.  Roby  came  to  Saugus,  the  strictness, 
though  not  the  influence,  of  Puritanism  had  relaxed. 
He  was  better  fitted  to  the  new  than  to  the  old.  He 
was  born  in  Boston  in  1724,  graduated  in  1742,  and 
ordained  minister  of  the  Third  Parish  in  1752.  He 
served  this  parish  fifty-one  years. 

He  was  an  excellent  scholar,  and  was  highly  es- 
teemed for  his  social  virtues.  He  was  not  disputa- 
tive  nor  combative,  like  many  of  his  creed.  He  was 
the  benevolent  father  rather  than  the  austere  teacher 
of  his  people.  We  find  two  published  Fast  Day  ser- 
mons of  his,  one  in  1781,  the  other  in  1794.  His 
first  wife  was  Rachel  Proctor,  of  Boston,  and  they 
had  eight  children. 

Parson  Roby's  tombstone  is  in  the  old  church-yard 

101 


Hearths  and  Homes 

just  by  the  spot  where  the  meeting-house  stood.  It 
is  by  the  roadside  in  the  centre  of  a  group  that  is  a 
touching  reminder  of  the  closeness  of  our  ancestors' 
family  relations.  The  inscription  of  the  stone  at 
Mr.  Roby's  grave  reads  as  follows  :  - 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Roby, 
who  departed  this  life  January  31st,  1803,  in  the 
80th  year  of  his  age  and  53d  of  his  ministry  in  this 
parish. 

"Through  life  a  lover  of  learning  and  virtue,  a 
sincere  friend,  a  kind  and  affectionate  husband  and 
parent,  and  a  devoted  Christian. 

"  By  a  constant  practice  of  the  Christian  and  social 
virtues,  he  rendered  himself  beloved  and  respected 
in  the  various  walks  of  domestic  life.  Reader, 
wouldst  thou  be  honored  in  life  and  lamented  in 
death,  go  and  do  likewise. 

' '  No  pain,  no  grief,  no  anxious  fear 

Invade  thy  bounds  ;   no  mortal  woes 
Can  reach  the  peaceful  sleeper  here 

While  angels  watch  his  soft  repose. 
So  Jesus  slept :  God's  dying  Son, 

Passed  thro'  the  grave,  and  blest  the  bed ; 
Then  rest,  dear  saint,  till  from  His  throne 

The  morning  break  and  pierce  the  shade." 

By  his  side  is  seen  the  name  Rachel  Roby ;  next 
are  the  marble  records  of  Nathan  and  Sarah  Hawkes. 
Beyond  may  be  seen  the  names  Daniel  and  Rachel 
Hawkes,  and  between  all,  white  and  pure  and  spot- 
less, is  the  stone  that  tells  of  young  life  taken 
away  on  the  threshold  of  promise  —  Rachel  Hawkes. 
These  three  couples,  after  walking  side  by  side  the 
allotted  span  of  man,  have  beside  them  this  fair 


of  Old  Lynn 

flower  of  youth  and  innocence,  this  beautiful  Rachel, 
great-granddaughter,  granddaughter  and  daughter. 

The  house  occupied  by  Parson  Roby  yet  stands 
where  it  was  built,  much  modernized,  but  it  is  now 
upon  the  "  Main  "  Street  of  Saugus.  When  he  lived 
there  it  was  a  mere  lane.  The  parson  visited  his 
scattered  parishioners  on  horseback.  All  other  trav- 
eling, except  on  foot,  was  done  with  clumsy  ox-teams, 
which  crawled  creaking  along  the  uncertain  way. 
The  driver  of  an  ox-cart  had  abundant  leisure  for 
contemplation,  and  need  of  patience. 

This  wTas  the  time  that  saw  the  becoming  knee- 
breeches,  black  silk  stockings  and  bright  buckles  go 
out  of  fashion  and  the  ugly  long  trousers  come  into 
vogue.  Gallant  horseback-riding  was  the  rule  and 
not  the  exception. 

The  Puritan  Sabbath,  maligned  though  it  is,  despite 
of  long  sermons,  was  the  weekly  day  of  rest,  when  the 
whole  community  came  together  to  exchange  gossip, 
wit  and  information.  It  was  a  rural  meet,  where 
right  living,  rather  than  the  tawdry  display  of  modern 
churches,  was  considered  a  mark  of  superiority. 

Conditions  and  needs  change.  An  electric  railway 
or  a  German  Sunday  may  meet  a  craving  of  to-day, 
but  the  fathers  enjoyed  their  way  and  by  it  they 
grew  rich  in  grace,  having  founded  the  ideal  civili- 
zation of  the  world.  They  reared  strong  sons  and 
daughters,  fit  to  combat  error  in  all  its  forms.  Was 
not  this  enough  of  pleasure  for  a  rugged  race  of 
men,  who  saw  something  beyond  the  mere  day  - 
eating  and  drinking  —  and  to-morrow  —  gone  ? 

103 


Hearths  and  Homes 

It  is  the  fashion  nowadays  to  lash  the  Puritan 
and  bewail  the  strictness  of  his  rules  for  life  and 
conduct.  No  man  of  the  times  who  was  worthy  of 
or  desired  in  such  a  community  ever  found  fault 
with  the  regulations  which  themselves  originated. 
It  was  only  the  evil  onlookers  among  their  contem- 
poraries who  protested,  and  the  scoffers  of  later 
days  who  cry  out  against  them.  Suppose  they  did 
not  have  certain  amusements  of  to-day.  One  man 
or  one  generation  has  no  right  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  another. 

People  talk  glibly  of  the  austerity  of  our  fathers. 
Read  this  from  the  Parish  Records  of  1781,  March  25  : 
"  Parish  met  according  to  adjournment :  excused  Ezra 
Coates  from  being  Parish  Clerk  and  chose  Major 
David  Parker ;  adjourned  to  meet  at  Jacob  Newhall's 
Innholder,  the  8th  day  of  April."  This  is  the  first 
vote  of  the  kind  on  the  records,  though  such  are 
frequent  afterwards,  there  being  a  desire  to  make 
the  meetings  a  little  more  genial,  cider  and  flip  not 
being  prohibited.  After  this  the  warrants  called  the 
meetings  at  the  Meeting  House,  but  the  adjourned 
meetings  were  uniformly  to  be  had  at  "Landlord" 
Newhall's. 

Mr.  Roby  was  an  exemplar  in  many  ways  of  the 
compact  force  of  organized  Puritanism.  He  made 
himself  a  part  of  the  people,  to  whom  he  dedicated 
his  life-work.  With  the  early  teachers  there  was 
no  drifting  about  from  parish  to  parish.  When  his 
calling  was  assured  it  was  to  live  and  die  and  be 
buried  with  his  own.  Such  men  as  he  identified 

104 


of  Old  Lynn 

themselves  with  the  air,  the  soil,  the  traditions  of 
the  locality,  becoming,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  all. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  Mr.  Roby,  in  spite  of 
his  amiability,  was  a  true  member  of  the  Puritan 
Church  militant.  The  Puritan  was  to  the  backbone 
a  fighting  Christian.  Those  who  stayed  at  home  cut 
off  the  head  of  King  Charles,  and  later  drove  his 
ignoble  son  into  servile  retirement  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  King  of  France.  Those  who  came  to 
these  shores  were  about  to  enter  into  a  gigantic 
struggle  with  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  Crown, 
which  resulted  in  the  dismemberment  of  the  British 
Empire  and  the  foundation  of  the  Great  Republic. 

Four  days  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington,  on  the 
23d  of  April,  1775,  the  people  of  Lynn  chose  a  com- 
mittee to  consult  measures  of  safety.  This  commit- 
tee consisted  of  Rev.  John  Treadwell,  minister  of 
the  First  Parish,  Rev.  Joseph  Roby,  minister  of  the 
Third  Parish,  and  Deacon  Daniel  Mansfield.  On  the 
next  Sunday,  by  recommendation  of  the  Provincial 
Congress,  all  men  who  lived  within  twenty  miles  of 
the  seacoast  went  to  church  armed.  The  parson 
carried  under  one  arm  his  cartridge-box,  his  sermon 
under  the  other,  and  went  into  the  pulpit  with  his 
musket  loaded.  Bunker  Hill  came,  and  then  war 
with  its  horrid  mien  passed  away  from  Massachusetts 
Bay. 

Mr.  Roby's  Christian  name  calls  attention  to  a 
marked  characteristic  of  the  Puritan.  Down  to  the 
Revolution  few  children  were  baptized  in  New  Eng- 
land who  did  not  bear  a  Hebrew  name.  England 

105 


Hearths  and  Homes 

had  been  Anglo-Saxon,  Roman,  Danish,  Norse  and 
Norman.  Other  races  and  creeds  had  heroes  and 
saints,  but  the  Puritan  had  one  book  —  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  From  it  he  took  his  faith  and  his  chil- 
dren's names. 

The  village  green,  where  stood  the  House  of  God 
in  which  Parson  Roby  preached  and  practised  for  so 
many  years  the  unadulterated  doctrines  of  pure 
Puritanism,  still  remains  to  please  the  eye  and  to 
recall  an  age  which  was  kinder  and  less  intolerant 
than  modern  historians  are  prone  to  picture. 

"Happy  are  the  people  whose  annals  are  blank." 
There  is  a  mine  of  wisdom  concealed  in  this  sentence. 
A  quotation  from  Gibbon  in  English,  or  from  Voltaire 
in  French,  may  tend  to  illustrate  the  meaning :  "  His- 
tory, which  is,  indeed,  little  more  than  the  register 
of  the  crimes,  follies  and  misfortunes  of  mankind." 

These  people  lived  long  and  affluent  lives  and 
impressed  their  personalities  upon  the  community 
and  upon  following  generations,  because  and  by 
virtue  of  the  absence  of  tumult,  excitement  and 
controversy.  While  the  great  outer  world  was  con- 
vulsed, Saugus  minded  its  own  affairs,  reared  its 
children,  tended  its  sick,  buried  its  dead,  and  flour- 
ished by  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture.  There 
was  no  history  here,  but  much  that  tended  to  develop 
and  equip  the  stock  for  the  contest  —  for  the  posses- 
sion of  a  continent. 

Puritanism  has  dominated  New  England  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  has  stamped  its  virtues 
upon  the  great  belt  of  States  from  Plymouth  Rock 

106 


of  Old  Lynn 

by  the  Atlantic  to  the  Golden  Gate  of  the  Pacific.  It 
may  be  that  here  at  home,  under  changed  conditions, 
it  will  not  be  able  hereafter  to  hold  this  supremacy. 
Let  us,  therefore,  while  the  past  is  vivid,  while  its 
traditions  are  in  such  bold  relief,  gather  and  guard 
memorials  of  a  sturdy  race. 


107 


THE  FLAGG-GRAY  HOUSE. 


OST  of  the  historic  old  houses  of  Lynn  have 
been  destroyed  or  degraded  to  make  room 
for  the  modern  bustling  city.  Some  remain, 
but  as  our  lantern-slide  pictures  show,  they  are 
mostly  in  remote  parts  of  the  old  town  —  in  the 
sections  unaffected  by  the  manufacturing  impetus  — 
in  Saugus  and  Lynnfield. 

Along  Boston  Street  —  the  old  Colonial  highway  - 
are  a  few  spared  monuments  of  the  earlier  days. 
One  such  is  the  house  known  as  indicated  by  our 
caption.  It  stands  at  the  angle  of  Marion  Street, 
facing  Boston  Street,  and  still  has  a  pleasant  outlook 
in  spite  of  its  environment. 

This  sketch  may  stimulate  some  student  of  leisure 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  house  and  its  occupants. 
We  know  that  it  was  the  home  of  Dr.  John  Flagg, 
who  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Ebenezer  Flagg,  of  Chester, 
N.  H.  He  was  born  in  1743,  and  graduated  at  Har- 
vard in  1761.  He  came  to  Lynn  in  1769,  and  entered 
upon  the  exacting  duties  of  a  physician,  in  which 
calling  he  evinced  ability  and  won  the  fees  and  con- 
fidence of  the  community.  He  was  an  active  patriot 
in  the  Revolution,  and  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety  in  1775,  and  commissioned  as 
Colonel.  In  1781,  Governor  John  Hancock,  the  first 

109 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Governor  under  the  new  Constitution,  appointed  him 
one  of  the  first  three  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  Lynn. 

He  married  Susanna  Fowle,  and  they  had  one 
daughter,  Susanna,  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr. 
James  Gardiner,  an  equally  noted  physician  and 
citizen.  Dr.  Flagg  died  May  27,  1793. 

An  earlier  occupant  of  the  house  was  Abraham  Gray, 
a  shoemaker,  whose  father,  William  Gray,  was  in  1750 
one  of  only  three  persons  who  carried  on  the  shoe  busi- 
ness in  Lynn  so  extensively  as  to  employ  journeymen. 

Under  this  roof -tree,  on  June  27,  1750,  was  born  a 
son  to  Abraham  Gray.  The  boy  was  named  William, 
who  became  the  richest  and  most  successful  merchant 
of  his  time  in  New  England.  He  was  familiarly 
known  as  "  Billy  "  Gray,  and  in  1810  he  became  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor  of  Massachusetts,  to  which  office  he 
was  re-elected  in  1811.  Mr.  Gray  died  in  Boston, 
November  3,  1825.  From  his  five  sons  numerous 
and  eminently  respectable  descendants  claim  origin. 

Among  them  is  Mr.  Justice  Horace  Gray  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  who,  a  few  years  since, 
visited  the  birthplace  of  his  grandfather. 

Mr.  Gray's  only  daughter,  Lucia,  married  Col. 
Samuel  Swett.  Her  son  was  Rev.  William  Gray 
Swett,  the  pleasantly  remembered  pastor  of  the 
Unitarian  Society  in  Lynn,  from  January  1,  1840,  to 
the  day  of  his  death,  February  15,  1843. 

The  gambrel  or  curb  roof  was  a  style  of  architec- 
ture common  in  England  when  our  ancestors  left 
there.  It  relieved  the  plainness  of  the  roof  lines, 
and  it  gave  added  height  in  the  attic  without  carry- 
ing the  frame  of  the  building  up  another  story. 

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THE   MEETING-HOUSE  OF  THE  SECOND 
CHURCH  IN  LYNN. 


;  NE  of  the  resulting  events  from  the  building 
of  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-House  upon  the 
Common,  instead  of  the  compromise  location 
-  Choose  Hill  —  proposed  by  the  settlers  at  Saugus 
and  Lynnfield,  was  the  establishment  of  the  North 
Precinct  of  Lynn  upon  substantially  the  lines  of  the 
present  town  of  Lynnfield. 

The  initial  move  for  the  setting  off  of  a  new 
Precinct  was  on  January  16,  1711-12,  in  a  petition  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  Lynn  Farms.  The  distance  to 
travel  for  worship  to  the  First  Parish  meeting-house 
was  the  grievance.  Reading  (Wakefield)  was  nearer, 
but  another  town,  the  Parish  meeting-house  of  which 
was  already  crowded,  and  which  they  had  no  right 
to  attend,  though  they  contributed  to  it  as  well  as 
to  their  own  Parish. 

On  November  17,  1712,  Lynn  voted,  at  the  request 
of  our  neighbors,  the  farmers,  so-called,  "That  all 
the  part  of  the  town  that  lies  upon  the  northerly 
side  of  that  highway  that  leads  from  Salem  to 
Reading  be  set  off  for  a  Precinct,  and  when  they 
shall  have  a  meeting-house  and  a  minister,  quali- 
fied according  to  law,  settled  to  preach  the  Word 
of  God  amongst  them,  they  shall  be  wholly  freed 

in 


Hearths  and  Homes 

from  paying  to  the  ministry  of  the  town,  and  not 
before." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  new  Precinct  bought  a 
parcel  of  land,  which  is  now  a  part  of  "  The  Green  " 
at  Lynnfield  Centre.  The  deed  is  dated  "This 
seventh  day  of  December,  1714,  and  in  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord,  George,  King  of 
Great  Britain,"  etc. 

In  the  description  are  these  words,  "And  the  said 
parcel  of  land  is  butted  and  bounded  as  followeth, 
viz. :  all  that  land  where  on  ye  sd  Precinct  Meeting 
House  now  standeth." 

So  that  the  meeting-house  was  erected  prior  to 
December  7,  1714,  though  the  first  pastor,  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Sparhawk,  was  not  installed  over  the 
Second  Church  in  Lynn  till  August  17,  1720. 

The  house  was  originally  nearly  square,  or  to  be 
exact,  it  was  about  thirty-seven  and  a  half  feet  long, 
and  about  thirty  feet  wide ;  height  of  "  post "  about 
eighteen  feet.  In  1782  it  was  enlarged  by  cutting 
it  open  and  inserting  a  new  portion,  making  the 
building  fourteen  feet  longer.  No  alteration  has 
ever  been  made  in  the  height.  There  were  originally 
doors  on  three  sides,  like  the  other  Puritan  meeting- 
houses. The  pulpit  and  the  pulpit  window  were  on 
the  north  side. 

There  were  galleries  upon  three  sides.  For  one 
hundred  and  ten  years  no  fire  was  built  in  the  house, 
and  the  upper  part  of  the  building  was  used  for  the 
storage  of  the  powder  of  the  Precinct,  which  was 
considered  almost  as  essential  as  preaching.  Our 

112 


of  Old  Lynn 

fathers  believed  in  the  Cromwellian  maxim,  "Put 
your  trust  in  God ;  but  mind  to  keep  your  powder 
dry." 

It  has  twenty-six  deep  windows,  which  have  been 
renewed  several  times.  Its  frame  is  of  massive  oak 
construction.  Its  interior  has  been  changed  by 
removing  the  galleries,  and  by  putting  in  a  floor, 
making  two  stories. 

Only  two  other  church  edifices  in  the  State  can 
vie  with  it  in  point  of  age  and  use.  One  of  these 
is  "  The  Old  Ship,"  so-called,  at  Hingham.  The  other 
is  St.  Michael's  (Episcopalian)  of  Marblehead.  The 
latter  was  built  in  the  same  year  as  our  North 
Precinct  meeting-house. 

This  building  has  a  unique  interest  to  the  people 
of  Lynn.  It  not  only  has  been  a  church  edifice  for 
all  these  years,  but  it  is  the  building  wherein  the 
civil  affairs  of  the  district,  precinct  and  Town  of 
Lynnfield  were  transacted  down  to  1892,  when  the 
new  Town  Hall  was  dedicated. 

It  is  without  question  the  most  historic  building 
within  the  limits  of  the  original  Town  of  Lynn.  It 
is  older  than  the  Old  South  meeting-house,  Faneuil 
Hall,  or  King's  Chapel,  of  Boston.  From  roof  to 
foundation  stones  it  is  sound,  and  can  be  maintained 
for  many  coming  generations  as  a  cherished  memento 
of  the  strong  race  which  in  travail  brought  forth  a 
great  nation. 

The  illustration  is  from  a  photograph  taken  in 
August,  1898. 

For  further  description  of  this  building  reference 

113 


Hearths  and  Homes 

may  be  had  to  "Wellman's  History  of  Lynnfield,"  to 
a  paper  read  by  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Parsons  before  the 
Lynn  Historical  Society,  May  11,  1899,  entitled  "A 
Trip  to  Lynn  Farms,"  and  an  address  entitled  "Why 
the  Old  Town  House  Was  Built,"  prepared  by  the 
writer  for  the  Dedicatory  Exercises  of  the  New 
Town  Hall,  January  28,  1892,  and  reprinted  in  this 
book. 


114 


THE  MEETING-HOUSE  OF  THE  THIRD 
PARISH  IN  LYNN. 


i  HAT  is  now  the  Town  of  Lynnfi eld  constituted 
the  North  or  Second  Parish  of  Lynn  up  to 
1782.  In  that  year  Lynnfield  was  set  off 
from  the  town  as  a  district.  Subsequently  the 
Saugus  Parish  was  known  as  the  Second  Parish  of 
Lynn  instead  of  the  Third. 

"  The  Society  of  Proprietors  of  the  new  Meeting- 
house in  the  Western  end  of  the  Town  of  Lynn  "  was 
the  name  of  what  later  became  the  Meeting-house 
of  the  Third  Parish  of  Lynn. 

It  was  built  by  the  people  of  the  west  end  of  the 
town  as  proprietors,  because  the  First  Parish  suc- 
cessfully opposed  the  setting  up  of  a  new  parish. 

The  same  arguments  were  used  as  in  the  case  of 
the  North  or  Lynnfield  Parish,  namely,  distance  and 
inconvenience  of  traveling  down  to  worship  in  the 
old  Parish  meeting-house  on  the  Common. 

The  movement  to  secure  a  separate  place  of  wor- 
ship took  definite  form  when  William  Taylor,  on 
July  1,  1736,  conveyed  to  Thomas  Cheever,  Jonathan 
Waite  and  John  Waite  a  parcel  of  land  "  for  divers 
good  causes  and  considerations,  but  more  especially 
to  encourage  the  building  of  a  meeting-house  for  the 
public  worship  of  God,"  which  includes  what  is  now 

115 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  public  square  whereon  stands  the  Soldiers'  Monu- 
ment in  Saugus  Centre  and  the  old  burying-ground 
lying  to  the  west. 

William  Taylor  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  place, 
the  son  of  James  Taylor,  who  for  many  years  was 
the  Treasurer  of  the  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Through  the  marriage  of  William  Taylor's  daugh- 
ter, Anna,  to  Benjamin  Parker,  his  blood  and  his 
influence  has  ever  since  been  potent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Parish  and  Town  of  Saugus. 

The  building,  which  still  stands,  though  degraded 
in  use  and  removed  across  the  road  to  the  north, 
stood  upon  what  was  then  a  little  knoll.  It  was 
forty-five  feet  six  inches  in  length  by  thirty-five  feet 
eight  inches  in  width  with  posts  twenty  feet  in 
height.  It  had  three  doors,  two  of  which  opened 
directly  into  the  room  of  worship,  while  on  the  south 
side  was  the  main  door  with  a  large  porch,  into  which 
were  three  entrances.  When  finally  abandoned  as 
a  church  edifice  there  was  a  single  entrance  at  the 
west  end.  It  had  galleries  and  sounding  board,  but 
never  had  a  steeple  or  cupola,  and  was  as  plain  and 
austere  and  homely  as  all  the  Puritan  meeting-houses 
'were.  The  building  was  completed  in  1737. 

The  proprietors  organized  under  a  general  law  of 
the  Province,  authorizing  the  owners  of  lands  held 
in  common  to  form  themselves  into  an  association. 
By  so  associating  they  could  govern  themselves  sub- 
stantially in  the  same  manner  as  a  parish. 

The  General  Court  gave  them  a  share  of  the  income 
of  the  First  Parish  "to  maintain  preaching  among 

116 


of  Old  Lynn 

themselves  during  the  more  difficult  seasons  of  the 
year." 

In  1738,  Edward  Cheever,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
of  1737,  then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  a  resident  of 
the  West  End,  became  the  first  minister  of  the  con- 
gregation and  the  only  minister  of  the  proprietors 
as  distinct  from  the  later  organized  parish. 

After  a  struggle  of  twelve  years,  on  January  27, 
1749-50,  a  joint  committee  of  the  General  Court 
reported  in  favor  of  the  new  Parish. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Parish,  February  2, 
1750,  it  was  voted  "  That  the  Parish  did  concur  with 
the  church  and  made  choice  of  Mr.  Joseph  Roby  to 
be  settled  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  in  said  Parish." 

Thereafter,  for  the  period  of  fifty-two  years,  Par- 
son Roby  faithfully  and  efficiently  served  the  Parish 
and  church  as  minister  and  friend.  He  died  January 
31,  1803,  and  his  name  and  quaint-marked  tombstone 
may  be  seen  in  the  old  burying-ground  across  the  way. 

Like  so  many  of  the  old  Puritan  churches,  this  one 
was  a  storm  centre  of  the  ecclesiastical  duels  of  the 
first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Universal- 
ists  won  in  the  end,  and  occupied  it  until  1860,  when 
it  was  sold  and  removed  to  its  present  site. 

Whoever  seeks  to  know  more  of  the  house  may  be 
referred  to  the  exhaustive  and  sympathetic  "  Histor- 
ical Address  upon  the  Third  Church  in  Lynn,"  deliv- 
ered by  Benjamin  N.  Johnson  at  its  one  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary,  October  13,  1887. 


117 


THE  PURITAN  BIRTHRIGHT. 


i  HE  Puritans  of  the  seventeenth  century  were 
the  most  earnest  and  intelligently  devout 
people  the  world  had  then  or  has  since 
known.  Their  study  of  the  Mosaic  law  was  more 
profound  and  obedience  to  the  inspiration  from 
Mount  Sinai  more  literal  than  that  of  the  Israelites 
themselves.  One  of  the  most  graphic  pictures  in 
the  account  of  the  patriarchs  is  the  story  of  the  sale 
of  Esau's  birthright  to  his  younger  brother  Jacob. 
The  Puritan  first-born  also  had  a  birthright,  but, 
unlike  the  son  of  Isaac,  he  clung  to  it  tenaciously. 

The  Puritans  took  the  Bible  for  their  law  and  their 
gospel,  but  they  had  in  them  all  the  Saxon's  love 
for  land  and  the  Norman's  passion  for  mastership. 
They  rejected  the  feudal  custom  which  the  Norman 
conquest  of  England  brought  into  vogue,  whereby 
the  first-born  male  of  a  family  inherited  lands  under 
what  we  know  as  primogeniture.  But  they  did  not 
go  back  to  the  old  Saxon  Gavelkind  which  prevailed 
before  the  Conquest,  under  which  all  children  shared 
alike.  They  made  a  compromise.  They  provided 
for  all  their  children,  but  strove  to  maintain  head- 
ship in  the  family  —  to  keep  the  fire  burning  upon 
the  family  altar  by  a  curious  contrivance.  They 
adopted  a  scheme  of  property  succession  which 

119 


Hearths  and  Homes 

seemed  to  have  something  of  the  Saxon,  all  children 
sharing  alike,  and  something  of  the  Norman  feudal, 
which  gave  all  to  the  eldest  son.  The  Puritans  fol- 
lowed neither  one  nor  the  other.  Upon  the  plains 
of  Judea,  among  that  peculiar  people  in  whose  behalf 
the  Deity  was  believed  to  have  special  interest,  they 
found  their  exemplar.  In  the  plan  of  Moses  the 
tribal  or  clan  relation  was  paramount.  The  family 
and  not  the  individual  was  the  unit.  Hence,  while 
each  child  had  his  portion,  as  is  shown  in  the  parable 
of  the  Prodigal  Son,  yet  the  eldest  son  had  his 
birthright.  In  the  same  parable,  when  the  elder  son 
murmured  at  the  rejoicings  over  the  return  of  the 
Prodigal,  the  father  wisely  replied,  "Son,  thou  art 
ever  with  me,  and  all  I  have  is  thine."  So  the  Puri- 
tans gave  the  eldest  son  a  birthright,  that  is,  a  double 
portion.  Like  the  children  of  Israel,  the  English 
Puritans  in  their  exodus  took  with  them  to  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  wives  and  children,  flocks  and  herds. 
Heedless  of  the  clash  of  arms  in  the  mother-country, 
they  went  to  work  to  formulate  laws  for  the  new 
world,  in  which  work  their  successors  have  been 
fruitful  even  to  this  day.  The  laws,  just  one  hun- 
dred in  number,  bear  in  their  margin,  in  many  cases, 
reference  to  Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deuteronomy, 
upon  which  they  were  based.  They  are  entitled 
"The  Body  of  Liberties  of  1641." 

By  the  eighty-first  paragraph  of  the  Body  of 
Liberties  of  1641,  it  was  provided  that  "  when  parents 
dye  intestate,  the  Elder  sonne  shall  have  a  doble 
portion  of  his  whole  estate,  reall  and  personall, 

120 


of  Old  Lynn 

unlesse  the  Generall  Court  upon  just  reason  shall 
Judge  otherwise."  The  Code  of  1660  re-enacted  this 
provision  in  somewhat  modernized  spelling :  "  Pro- 
vided, the  eldest  sonn  shall  have  a  Double  Portion, 
and  where  there  are  no  sonns,  the  daughters  shall 
inherit  as  Copartners,  unless  the  Court  upon  just 
Cause  alledged,  shall  otherwise  Determine." 

Under  the  provincial  charter  of  William  and  Mary, 
the  General  Court  by  an  act  passed  November  1, 
1692,  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  settling  and  distribu- 
tion of  the  estates  of  intestates,"  reaffirms  this  prin- 
ciple in  these  words :  "...  the  estate  of  all  to  be 
equal,  except  the  eldest  son  then  surviving  (where 
there  is  no  issue  of  the  first  born  or  of  any  other 
elder  son),  who  shall  have  two  shares,  or  a  double 
portion  of  the  whole :  and  where  there  are  no  sons, 
the  daughters  shall  inherit  as  copartners.  ..."  How 
like  the  last  clause  is  the  command  of  Israel's  inspired 
lawgiver  upon  the  same  subject  (Numbers  xxvii :  8) : 
"And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel, 
saying,  If  a  man  die  and  have  no  son  then  ye  shall 
cause  his  inheritance  to  pass  unto  his  daughter." 
The  preamble  to  Chapter  14  of  the  Province  Laws, 
1692-93,  reveals  something  of  the  hardships  of  pioneer 
life  and  tender  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  children  : 
"Whereas,  estates  in  these  plantations  do  consist 
chiefly  of  lands  which  have  been  subdued  and  brought 
to  improvement  by  the  industry  and  labour  of  the 
proprietors,  with  the  assistance  of  their  children,  the 
younger  children  generally  having  been  longest  and 
most  serviceable  unto  their  parents  in  that  behalf, 

121 


Hearths  and  Homes 

who  have  not  personal  estates  to  give  out  unto  them 
in  portions,  or  otherwise  to  recompense  their  labour." 

The  eldest  son's  family  did  not  lose  his  double 
portion  or  birthright,  even  if  he  died  before  his 
father.  His  issue  inherited  his  share,  but  in  the 
event  of  the  estate  being  incapable  of  division,  as 
was  often  the  case,  the  next  eldest  son  took  the 
homestead,  paying  to  the  other  heirs  such  an  amount 
in  cash,  "  corn,"  or  "  cattle  "  as  a  committee  of  neigh- 
bors, "three  sufficient  householders,"  should  deter- 
mine to  be  equitable.  The  principle  seems  to  have 
been  to  keep  the  homestead  in  the  possession  of  the 
oldest  living  male  of  the  family  name,  he  being  pre- 
sumably the  best  able  to  maintain  the  family  stand- 
ing and  traditions. 

Not  even  the  American  Revolution,  when  the  glit- 
tering French  catchwords,  "liberty,  equality,  and 
fraternity,"  were  so  popular,  sufficed  to  effect  a 
change  immediately.  After  the  war  with  England 
was  over,  and  three  years  after  the  adoption  of  the 
State  Constitution,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts 
enacted  by  Statute  of  1783,  chapter  36,  paragraph  1, 
"that  land  should  descend  equally  among  children, 
and  such  as  legally  represent  them,  except  that  the 
eldest  son  should  have  two  shares."  So  that  the 
Puritan  birthright  was  re-enacted  by  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts.  This  exception  was  abro- 
gated by  Statute  of  1789,  chapter  2,  which  went  into 
operation  on  the  first  of  January,  1790 ;  and  from 
and  after  that  time  all  children  took  in  equal  shares 
without  regard  to  sex  or  primogeniture. 

122 


of  Old  Lynn 

In  the  vacation  months  of  each  year  numerous 
family  reunions  take  place  throughout  New  England. 
They  are  occasions  of  much  enjoyment.  People  from 
far  and  near  flock  to  the  old  homestead,  and  they 
talk  genealogy,  even  as  the  Israelites  did  of  old.  It 
is  rank  heresy  to  so  much  as  question  the  declaration 
that  all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,  but  God's 
chosen  people  of  the  Scriptures  and  our  Puritan 
ancestors  did  not  believe  in  it  at  all.  May  we  not 
ask  if,  in  spite  of  all  the  vast  benefits  that  have  come 
to  our  race  by  the  American  Revolution,  we  did  not 
lose  something  of  the  sacredness  of  home  and  family 
ties  when  we  abandoned  the  patriarchal  headship  and 
adopted  the  Procrustean  scheme  for  making  all  men 
equal?  Would  not  more  of  these  old  homesteads 
have  been  retained,  would  not  more  ancestral  hearth- 
fires  have  been  kept  burning,  had  the  Puritan  idea 
been  allowed  to  prevail  instead  of  the  carving  and 
leveling-down  scheme? 

The  decadence  of  the  hill  towns  and  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  old  homesteads  that  were  their  crowning 
glory  afford  themes  for  much  discussion.  Not  until 
after  the  abrogation  of  the  Puritan  family  headship 
did  attachment  to  the  soil  fail  or  the  number  of 
children  in  native  families  begin  to  grow  less.  So 
long  as  the  family  looked  forward  to  a  chosen  one 
as  the  presumptive  care-taker  of  the  old  home,  all 
went  well.  The  one  whom  nature  and  custom  had 
selected  to  maintain  the  family  honor  and  guard  the 
accumulating  heirlooms  had  an  incentive  to  make 
the  place  really  a  family  centre,  an  attractive  object 

123 


Hearths  and  Homes 

for  an  annual  pilgrimage.  The  younger  brethren 
were  taught  early  the  necessity  for  learning  useful 
trades,  and  as  the  country  grew  they  went  into  busi- 
ness. They  were  imbued  with  reverence  for  the  old 
home,  and  all  knew  that  its  best  chamber,  the  fattest 
turkey,  the  choicest  products  of  the  yeoman  master, 
were  reserved  for  those  who  wandered  into  town  life, 
but  whose  feet  homeward  turned  for  the  annual 
Thanksgiving,  the  New  England  family  festival. 

It  is  just  one  hundred  years1  since  the  Puritan  first- 
born lost  (by  statute)  his  birthright  —  his  first  claim 
upon  the  home  of  his  fathers.  At  about  the  same 
time  he  took  to  trade  and  commerce  and  then  to 
manufactures.  His  children  are  now  the  merchant 
princes  of  the  land.  With  all  the  material  success 
which  has  attended  the  diversion  from  the  patri- 
archal system  there  is  a  shadow.  Where  are  the 
homely  homes  of  the  fathers?  Why  are  strangers 
sitting  in  their  gates,  who  know  not  the  children  of 
the  men  who  built  them  on  the  verdant  hillsides  and 
gave  the  healthful  impetus  which  sent  forth  into  the 
world  so  many  with  strong  brains  to  win  in  every 
field  of  endeavor? 

With  wealth  and  refinement  the  longings  to  tread 
in  the  footprints  of  the  fathers  are  not  lost.  There 
is  much  lamentation  over  the  abandoned  farms  of 
New  England,  but  there  will  be  found  sentiment 
enough  in  the  men  in  whose  veins  runs  the  blood  of 
the  pioneers  to  restore  to  them  their  ancient  home- 

1  This  was  written  in  1890. 

124 


of  Old  Lynn 

likeness  without  calling  upon  aliens  to  come  and 
possess. 

We  cannot  in  this  radical  age  re-enact  the  Puritan 
birthright.  We  may  be  permitted  to  allude  to  it  as 
a  system  under  which  the  race  thrived.  Under  the 
apparent  materialism  of  the  well-to-do  descendants 
of  the  Puritans  there  is  an  ingrained  attachment  to 
the  soil  and  to  family,  which  will  yet  recover  every 
one  of  those  dear  old  homesteads.  There  may  not 
be  in  the  future  a  legal  birthright,  yet  the  birthright 
of  memory,  tradition  and  reverence  will  not  be  sold 
like  Esau's,  but  tenderly  guarded  with  the  fathers' 
blessing. 


125 


PART    II 
Hearths  and    Homes  of  Old   Lynn 


STUDIES  IN   LOCAL  HISTORY 


A  CHAPTER  IN  THE    STORY  OF    THE    IRON 

WORKS.1 


ifPJIDWAY  between  Salem  and  Boston,  the  first 
and  second  capitals  of  Massachusetts,  there 
flows  a  serpentine  little  stream,  called  the 
Abousett  by  the  Indians  and  the  Saugus  by  their 
English  successors.  From  an  elevation  it  resembles 
a  string  of  "upper-case"  letter  S's.  Tide  water 
meets  the  down-flowing  fresh  water  two  miles  from 
the  bay,  between  Round  Hill  on  the  west  and  the 
dark  forest  on  the  east.  Just  where  the  currents 
lap  each  other,  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  is  a  long 
sloping  mound  like  a  sea-serpent's  back,  which  to  the 
passer-by  seems  but  a  freak  of  nature.  The  hand  of 
man,  however,  wrought  that  earth-work.  At  this 
point  was  the  fording  place  crossed  in  the  early 
days  by  Endicott  and  Winthrop,  and  all  the  Puritan 
worthies  in  the  infancy  of  New  England. 

The  mound  which  lies  at  this  point  upon  the  river 
bank,  and  is  known  to  the  natives  as  "the  Cinder 
Banks,"  is  the  heaped-up  scoria  — the  refuse,  the 
remainder  —  the  sweepings  of  an  iron  foundry,  which 
was  in  full  blast  before  the  red  man  had  cast  his 
last  lingering  look  upon  his  beloved  river  and  upon 

1  Lynn  Historical  Society,  February  7,  1902. 

129 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  blue  waters  of  the  Atlantic  beyond.  The  fleecy 
snows  have  mantled  it,  the  sun  has  scorched  it  for 
two  centuries,  and  only  an  occasional  curious  observer 
has  disturbed  its  scanty  covering  of  vegetation  for 
some  relic  of  the  first  manufacturing  industry  of  the 
continent.  A  surpassingly  beautiful  picture  rewards 
the  lover  of  Nature  who  ascends  the  "pirates'  look- 
out "  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Glancing 
down  the  lazy  waters,  in  the  foreground  lie  the 
Nahants  and  Egg  Rock,  like  fair  nymphs  arising  from 
the  sea  ;  near  at  hand  are  green  forests  and  nestling 
hamlets ;  to  the  right  the  eye  catches  the  glittering 
dome  of  the  State  House ;  beyond  it  the  famed  Blue 
Hills  of  Milton ;  and  far  away  on  the  left,  almost 
mingling  with  the  horizon,  are  the  cliffs  of  Cape  Ann. 

Verily,  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun  in  the 
laws  of  Nature  or  of  trade.  The  present  large  im- 
petus of  English  capital  into  this  country  only  marks 
afresh  the  movement  that  has  existed  since  the  very 
beginnings  of  the  western  continent.  There  is  some- 
thing stimulating  in  the  contact  of  an  old  race  with 
a  new  soil.  English  capital  was  seeking  investments 
when  the  Puritans  took  possession  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  In  this  marvelous  age  of  iron  it  will  be  inter- 
esting to  note  a  few  incidents  in  the  history  of  the 
first  iron  works  in  America. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society  for  October,  1892,  a  diary  of  John  Winthrop, 
Jr.,  with  four  other  papers,  bearing  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Iron  Works  and  edited  by  Robert  C. 
Winthrop,  Jr.,  are  printed. 

130 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  diary  covers  parts  of  November  and  December, 
1645,  and  relates  a  trip  through  Massachusetts  south 
from  Boston  —  through  Braintree  among  other  places 
-  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 

R.  C.  Winthrop,  Jr.,  says  of  the  first  of  the  manu- 
scripts which  follow  the  diary  :  - 

"  The  first  of  them  is  a  rough  draft  (without  date, 
but  probably  written  in  the  spring  of  1644),  in  which 
John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  narrates  his  search  through 
Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  for  the 
fittest  place  in  which  to  establish  the  iron  industry, 
and  he  gives  at  length  his  reasons  for  preferring 
Braintree." 

Of  the  third  paper  he  says  :  - 

"  The  third  is  a  letter  to  Winthrop,  from  his  asso- 
ciates in  London,  in  June,  1645,  introducing  Richard 
Leader,  whom  they  were  sending  out  to  superintend 
the  works." 

In  the  notes  upon  this  diary  the  learned  editor 
says :  - 

"  Early  in  1644  the  Massachusetts  General  Court 
had  granted  3,000  acres  of  common  land  at  Braintree 
to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  and  others,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  an  iron  work  to  be  set  up  about  Monatocot 
River." 

By  the  Records  the  only  grants  made  to  John 
Winthrop,  Jr.,  during  1644  were,  first:— 

"Upon  the  petition  of  Mr.  John  Winthrop,  Jr., 
exhibited  to  this  Court,  for  leave  to  make  a  planta- 

131 


Hearths  and  Homes 

tion  at  or  near  Pequott,  it  is  ordered,  that  the  said 
petition  is  granted,  &  that  the  petitioner  shall  have 
liberty  to  make  a  plantation  in  the  said  Pequott  coun- 
try, with  such  others  as  shall  present  themselves  to 
join  in  the  said  plantation,  &  they  shall  enjoy  such 
liberties  as  are  necessary,  &  other  far  remote  planta- 
tions do  enjoy,  and  also  to  lay  out  a  convenient  place 
for  iron  works,  provided,  that  a  convenient  number 
of  fit  persons  to  carry  on  the  said  plantation  do 
appear  to  prosecute  the  same  within  three  years. 
Dated  the  28th  of  the  4th  mo.,  1644." 

The  second  grant  was  under  date  November  13, 
1644 :  - 

"Mr.  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  is  granted  the  hill  at 
Tautousq,  about  60  miles  westward,  in  which  the 
black  lead  is,  and  liberty  to  purchase  some  land  there 
of  the  Indians." 

The  only  other  grant  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  near 
this  time  was  dated  May  10,  1648,  and  relates  to  him 
as  a  prospector  of  salt  mines,  instead  of  iron  works, 
and  the  land  was  in  the  territory  conquered  from  the 
Indians  far  from  Braintree  :— 

"  The  Court  hath  agreed  that  3,000  acres  of  land 
shall  be  granted  to  John  Winthrop,  Junior,  of  the 
Pequot  land,  at  Paquatuck,  near  to  the  Narraganset 
country ;  provided,  that  if  he  set  not  up  a  consider- 
able salt  work  —  we  mean  to  make  one  hundred  ton  per 
annum  of  salt,  between  the  two  capes  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  within  three  years  now  next  coming,  —  then  this 
grant  to  be  void ;  provided,  also,  that  the  said  land 
fall  within  the  division  of  the  part  of  the  Pequod 

132 


of  Old  Lynn 

country  belonging  to  this  jurisdiction,  provided  the 
3,000  acres  be  laid  out  together  in  one  place,  &  the 
former  agreement  with  him  in  the  country's  behalf 
is  hereby  repealed." 

Early  and  late  writers  upon  the  first  Iron  Works 
in  America  discuss  the  matter  as  if  there  was  a 
dispute  as  to  the  priority  between  Lynn  and  Brain- 
tree.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  give  some  chrono- 
logical and  other  data. 

A  memorandum  made  in  "The  Records  of  the 
Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
New  England,"  under  date  of  March  2,  1628-29, 
while  preparations  were  making  in  England  for  the 
planting  of  the  colony,  is  indicative  of  a  purpose  and 
is  the  first  mention  of  the  iron  works  question.  It  is 
as  follows :  - 

"Also  for  Mr.  Malbon,  it  was  propounded,  he 
having  skyll  in  iron  works  and  willing  to  put  in  £25 
in  stock,  it  should  be  accepted  as  £50  and  his  charges 
to  be  borne  out  and  home  for  New  England ;  and 
upon  his  return  and  report  what  may  be  done  about 
iron  works,  consideration  to  be  had  of  proceeding 
therein  accordingly,  and  further  recompense  if  there 
be  cause  to  entertain  him." 

John  Malbon's  name  appears  a  few  days  later  on 
the  records,  when  he  desired  to  be  present  for  a 
conference  with  regard  to  his  proposition,  and  we 
hear  no  more  from  him. 

Evidently  he  failed  to  agree  with  the  company  and 
did  not  adventure  with  the  Colonists. 

133 


Hearths  and  Homes 

There  is  no  occasion  to  get  into  a  controversy  as 
to  which  was  first,  the  egg  or  the  hen  —  Lynn  or 
Braintree. 

The  historical  writers  were  not  careful  enough  in 
reading  the  recorded  facts  relating  to  the  under- 
taking —  hence  a  seeming  not  real  question  as  to  the 
priority  between  the  two  places. 

James  Savage,  the  erudite  editor  of  Governor 
Winthrop's  history,  says  in  a  note,  Vol.  2,  page  214  :  - 

"  Johnson  Lib.  III.,  C.  6,  takes  notice  of  the  invest- 
ment by  the  English  undertakers  in  the  work  at 
Braintree,  but  though  more  full,  he  is  little  more 
satisfactory  than  Mr.  Hubbard.  Neither  of  these 
writers  mentions  but  one  place,  so  that  from  Hubbard 
we  should  learn  nothing  of  Braintree  forge,  nor  from 
Johnson  of  Lynn.  From  some  powers  of  attorney 
given  in  by  the  London  undertakers,  preserved  in 
the  Suffolk  Registry,  Vol.  3,  155,  I  find  the  interest 
was  the  same  in  both  places." 

This  note  of  Mr.  Savage  gives  a  key  to  the  mystery. 

So  far  as  the  records  and  the  evidence  go  the 
scheme  to  make  iron  in  the  Colony  remained  quies- 
cent till  1642.  From  that  time  there  was  a  lively 
agitation. 

Readers  of  the  Colonial  Records  and  of  the  Suffolk 
Deeds  will  readily  ascertain  that  there  was  only  one 
company  of  undertakers  for  the  Iron  Works  and  that 
was  the  London  Company  interested  by  the  efforts  of 
Capt.  Robert  Bridges  of  Lynn  and  John  Winthrop,  Jr. 

In  a  note,  Vol.  2,  page  237,  Winthrop's  History, 
Savage  says  of  Capt.  Robert  Bridges :  - 

134 


of  Old  Lynn 

"Johnson  lib.  Ill  c.  26  speaks  of  his  ability  and 
good  disposition  to  serve  the  public.  He  was  a  free- 
man 2  June  1641,  went  home  next  year  but  came 
again  I  find  in  1643,  with  J.  Winthrop,  Jr.,  and  in 
the  three  following  years  was  a  deputy  for  Lynn. 
Having  served  in  1646  as  Speaker,  he  was  elevated 
to  the  rank  of  Assistant  next  year,  and  continued  in 
the  office  till  his  death  in  1656.  Probably  the  inter- 
est in  the  iron  works,  with  which  he  was  inspired 
by  Winthrop,  was  the  cause  of  his  coming  to  our 
country." 

The  General  Court  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England  on  March  7,  1643-44,  pursuant 
to  its  liberal  policy  in  aiding  schemes  for  the  growth 
of  new  industries  answered  certain  questions  of  the 
Iron  Works  Company. 

To  the  first  proposition  of  the  company  the  Court 
responded  by  granting  a  Monopoly  of  Manufacture 
for  twenty-one  years. 

To  the  fifth  proposition,  which  was  if  waste  places 
would  be  granted,  the  Court  replied  :  — 

"It  is  granted,  provided  they  take  not  above  six 
places,  and  do  within  ten  years  set  up  an  iron  fur- 
nace forge  in  each  of  the  places  and  not  a  bloomery 
only,  provided  the  Court  may  grant  a  plantation  in 
any  place  where  the  Court  thinketh  meet,  which  may 
not  hinder  their  present  proceeding. 

Capt.  Edward  Johnson,  of  Woburn,  wrote  a  book 
which  purported  to  be  "  A  History  of  New  England, 
from  the  English  Planting  in  the  yeare  1628  until 
the  yeare  1652."  It  was  first  published  anonymously 

135 


Hearths  and  Homes 

in  London  in  1654.  It  is  better  known  to  bibliograph- 
ers under  the  title,  "  Wonder- Working  Providence  of 
Sion's  Saviour  in  New  England."  Johnson's  book 
was  the  result  of  journeys  through  the  Colony  and 
consists  largely  of  the  planting  of  the  churches  with 
descriptions  of  the  industries  and  ways  of  living  of 
the  people.  In  his  account  of  Lynn  he  says  :  - 

"  There  is  also  an  Iron  Mill  in  constant  use,  but  as 
for  Lead  they  have  tried  but  little  yet." 

So  that  Mr.  Savage  was  in  error,  and  Johnson  had 
discovered  the  doings  at  Lynn. 

Goodwin  in  "The  Pilgrim  Republic,"  page  527, 
says :  - 

"In  1645  Iron  Works  were  set  up  at  Lynn,  but 
were  soon  closed  through  the  reasonable  fear  of  the 
people  that  the  demand  for  charcoal  would  consume 
the  scanty  supply  of  wood." 

Another  trial  was  made  at  Braintree,  and  in  1646 
Dr.  Child  there  produced  some  tons  of  cast-iron 
"pots,  mortars,  stoves  and  skillets." 

The  latest  writer  of  the  story  of  the  planting,  Daniel 
Wait  Howre,  in  his  book,  "The  Puritan  Republic,"  in 
the  chapter  on  Industrial  and  Commercial  Life,  page 
133,  says :  - 

"  A  pottery  was  established  at  Salem  in  1641  and 
iron  works  at  Lynn  in  1643,  but  the  latter  were 
abandoned." 

Dr.  W.  S.  Pattee,  in  his  history  of  Braintree,  in  the 
chapter  on  Iron  Works,  page  460,  says  :  - 

136 


of  Old  Lynn 

"The  greater  part  of  the  capital  and  principal 
business  was  at  Lynn,  as  at  the  time  of  the  failure 
of  the  iron  company  the  apprizements  of  their  estate 
at  Lynn  amounted  to  £3,295  2s.  6d.  and  at  Braintree 
£666  3s.  3d." 

We  may  add  that  it  appears  by  Suffolk  Deeds 
Liber  II.,  pages  265  to  272,  that  the  judgment  cred- 
itors, they  being  Robert  Burgis,  Nicholas  Potter,  John 
Tarbox,  Joseph  Mansfield,  John  Hawthorne,  Edward 
Baker,  Daniel  Salmon,  Thomas  Wiggins,  William 
Tingle,  John  Hill,  and  Joseph  Armitage  were  all  of 
Lynn. 

All  the  judgments  were  had  at  the  Salem  Court. 
Under  the  executions  there  issued  the  defendants 
are  named  as  "  Mr.  John  Bee  &  Company,  under- 
takers of  the  Iron  Workes  at  Lynne." 

One  parcel  levied  upon  is  described  "by  grant  from 
the  Towne  of  Boston  was  seized  of  Two  thousand 
eight  hundred  &  Sixty  acres  of  land  at  Braintry." 

Other  property  of  the  company  was  levied  upon  in 
Boston  and  in  Lynn,  but  the  citations  given  above 
plainly  show  that  though  the  company  had  lands  in 
different  localities  as  allowed  by  the  General  Court, 
the  seat,  the  centre,  of  the  Works  was  at  Lynn. 

Dr.  Pattee,  page  457,  says :  - 

"  It  is  useless  for  us  to  go  over  the  extensive  field 
of  controversy  in  reference  to  whether  Lynn  or 
Braintree  erected  the  first  iron  forge  in  America.  It 
is  of  little  moment  to  us  whether  Lynn  or  Braintree 
began  their  works  one  or  six  months  previous  to  the 
other,  as  they  were  one  and  the  same  company,  and 

137 


Hearths  and  Homes 

most  probably  their  works  established  as  near  together 
as  the  nature  of  the  circumstances  would  admit.  We 
are,  however,  of  an  opinion  that  the  evidence  pre- 
dominates to  Lynn.  Still,  it  is  an  open  question,  and 
we  think  will  ever  remain  as  such." 

Dr.  Pattee  goes  on  to  say  :  - 

"  The  first  branch  forge  and  furnace,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  ware  in  America  (as  it  was  one  branch, 
the  other  having  been  built  at  Lynn  by  the  same 
company),  was  constructed  in  that  part  of  Braintree 
which  is  now  called  Quincy,  on  what  has  ever  been 
known  as  Furnace  brook." 

And  ever  since,  the  Braintree  writers  have  disputed 
as  to  where  their  forge  was.  That  is  their  contro- 
versy, not  ours.  We  know  where  our  pond,  canal, 
works  and  forge  were. 

The  grant  of  nearly  3,000  acres  in  Braintree  was 
made  by  the  Town  of  Boston  of  its  common  lands  to 
the  Iron  Works  Company,  and  was  recorded  in  Suffolk 
Deeds,  Liber  I,  page  73.  This  conveyance  was  con- 
firmed by  the  Selectmen  of  Boston  on  the  23d  of 
9  month,  1647. 

One  conveyance  to  the  Company  of  Undertakers 
of  the  Iron  Works,  or  to  Richard  Leader,  agent,  of 
land  in  Braintree,  was  the  first  recorded  transaction, 
as  appears  in  Suffolk  Deeds,  Liber  I,  page  62.  This 
was  the  George  Ruggles  land,  and  the  conveyance 
was  dated  September  29,  1645. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  copy  another  instrument 
which  antedates  the  others  and  gives  a  description 
of  the  land  where  the  great  iron  works  experiment 

138 


of  Old  Lynn 

was  substantially  tried  by  Leader  and  Bridges,  and 
later  by  John  Gifford  :  - 

"  Thomas  Dexter,  of  Linne,  granted  unto  Richard 
Leader  of  Boston,  Mercht.  Agent  for  a  certaine  Com- 
pany of  Undertakers  for  an  Iron  works  &  in  their 
behalf  (in  consideration  of  XXXX£  sterl.  in  hand 
payd.)  All  that  parcell  of  land  neere  adjacent  to 
the  Grantors  house,  wch  shall  necessarily  be  over- 
flowed by  reason  of  a  pond  of  water  there  intended 
to  be  stopped  unto  the  height  agreed  on  betwixt 
them,  and  also  convenient  land  &  sufficient  for  a 
water  course  intended  to  be  erected  together  with 
the  land  lyeing  betweene  the  ould  water  course  & 
the  new  one.  As  also  fyve  Acres  &  halfe  in  the 
Cornefield  next  the  Grantors  house  &  most  convenient 
for  the  uses  intended,  &  twoe  convenient  Cart  wayes, 
one  on  the  one  syde  of  the  bargained  premises,  & 
another  on  the  other  syde  thereof.  And  this  was  an 
absolute  deed  of  sale  with  clause  of  warranty ;  And 
the  said  Rich.  Leader,  in  behalfe  of  his  principalls, 
did  grant  that  all  the  purchased  premises  in  conven- 
ient season  be  fenced  from  the  Grantors  lands  with 
a  sufficient  fence  to  be  made  &  maintained  for  ever 
at  the  charge  of  the  said  Company  of  Undertakers, 
as  also  to  make  &  maintaine  towards  Capt.  Bridges 
house,  &  one  at  the  out  bounds  of  Tho.  Dexters  land 
goeing  to  the  Towne  Comon,  &  to  make  &  maintaine 
a  sufficient  Cart  bridge  over  the  said  water  course 
out  of  the  lands  of  the  Grantor  through  some  part 
of  the  purchased  premisses  unto  the  other  part  of 
his  [71.]  Lands  to  his  use  &  benefit ;  &  yearely  for- 
ever, throughout  the  second  &  third  months  to  allow 
sufficient  water  in  the  ould  River  for  the  Alewives 
to  come  to  the  wyres  before  the  Grantors  house. 
And  what  soever  trespass  shallbe  done  by  any  beast 

139 


Hearths  and  Homes 

estrayeing  through  the  said  Gates  or  fences,  in  the 
Grantors  Corne  fields,  the  said  Grantee  for  himself 
&  principalls  doth  covenant  to  make  good  unto  the 
Grantor  uppon  Just  Demand." 

And  this  was  by  Indenture  of  sale,  dated  XXVII 
of  the  Xlth  month,  1645.  And  acknowledged  before 
Mr.  Endicot  VJth  1°,  1645. 

[Suffolk  Liber  1,  70,  71]. 

Wherever  the  Iron  Works  are  mentioned,  as  for 
example,  in  a  conveyance  from  Joseph  Armitage,  of 
Lynn,  to  Captain  Thomas  Savage,  Suffolk  Deeds, 
Liber  3,  page  3,  they  are  described  as  "ye  Iron 
Workes  at  Lynne  and  Braintry."  In  the  same  vol- 
ume, pages  137  and  138,  is  a  release  from  William 
Payne  to  Henry  Webb,  of  interest  in  the  Iron  Works 
in  New  England,  in  which  the  property  is  described 
as  at  Lynn  and  Braintree  in  New  England,  showing 
that  though  the  company  had  liberty  to  take  land  in 
other  places  these  two  were  the  only  ones  taken. 

At  the  time  of  Paine's  death  he  was  owner  of 
three-fourths  of  the  title  in  common  with  others, 
the  whole  being  under  the  supervision  of  Oliver 
Purchess.  By  his  will  he  gave  this  interest  to  his 
son  John,  adding  the  following  clause :  "  And  I  do 
hereby  earnestly  request  Mr.  Oliver  Purchis  to  be 
helpful  to  my  son  John  concerning  the  Iron  Works 
and  the  accounts  thereof,  whose  abilities  and  faith- 
fulness I  have  had  experience  of,  into  whose  care 
I  do  commit  the  said  accounts."  The  title  subse- 
quently passed  from  John  to  Mr.  Appleton,  though 
not  till  after  a  long  lawsuit. 

140 


of  Old  Lynn 

Under  date  of  1678,  Mr.  Lewis  writes  :  - 

"This  year,  Samuel  Appleton,  Jr.,  took  possession 
of  the  Iron  Works  by  a  grant  in  the  will  of  William 
Payne,  of  Boston." 

Mr.  Lewis  and  the  author  of  the  Paine  Genealogy 
do  not  agree,  and  these  differing  statements  are  a 
fair  sample  of  the  difficulties  that  beset  those  who 
in  local  history  look  for  accuracy. 

In  1651,  Richard  Leader,  agent  of  the  Iron  Works 
Company,  had  proved  himself  persona  non  grata  to 
Governor  Endicott,  the  General  Court  and  the  church 
at  Lynn.  He  went  home,  and  John  Giff  ord  succeeded 
him  as  agent  for  the  undertakers.  From  thence,  on, 
the  Colony  Records  teem  with  what  the  side  notes 
call  "Iron  Works  disputes." 

In  1654,  Mr.  Gifford  appears  to  have  been  at  odds 
with  the  company.  Noted  names  appear  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. On  September  20  of  that  year,  "  Captain 
Keane  (Robert  Keayne)  and  Mr.  Edward  Hutchinson, 
attorney  for  Mr.  Josiah  Winslow,  deputies  and  attor- 
neys for  the  undertakers  of  the  iron  works,  plaintiff, 
and  Mr.  John  Gifford,  late  agent  to  the  undertakers 
of  the  iron  works,  defendant,"  appear  before  the 
General  Court,  which  undertakes  to  solve  many  ques- 
tions, such  as  whether  Gifford  was  agent  of  the 
company  —  his  liability  to  the  company. 

Richard  Bellingham  was  Governor  of  the  Colony. 
Increase  Nowell  was  the  first  assistant,  and  the 
Court  had  to  pass  upon  their  right  to  vote  in  the 

141 


Hearths  and  Homes 

case,  showing  an  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  members 
that  they  were  not  disinterested. 

John  Gifford,  on  the  whole,  was  the  Englishman 
most  closely  connected  with  the  Iron  Works,  who 
lived  and  died  in  Lynn.  As  agent  of  the  London 
Company  he  had  a  checkered  career,  and  after  the 
stress  of  iron  works  troubles  was  over,  he  bought  a 
farm  and  water  privilege  higher  up  Saugus  River 
and  continued  the  Iron  Works  on  his  own  account  at 
what  is  now  Hewlett's  Mill  Pond  in  North  Saugus. 
His  house  was  where  the  Butterfield  house  is  to-day, 
under  the  shadow  (unless  the  railroad  people  have 
destroyed  them)  of  the  great  trees  on  the  way  to 
Wakefield. 

Gifford's  life  deserves  more  notice  from  local  his- 
torians than  can  be  given  here.  He  cast  his  lot  with 
us,  and  his  descendants  are  numerous  in  Lynn  and 
Essex  County.  Among  the  papers  recorded  in  Suffolk 
Deeds,  Liber  3,  page  155,  is  a  power  of  attorney,  ac- 
knowledged before  "Sir  Robert  Tichborne,  Knight, 
Lord  Mayor  of  the  Cittie  of  London  &  the  Aldermen 
or  Senators  of  said  Cittie,"  in  which  he  is  described 
as  John  Gifford,  of  the  Parish  of  Allhallowes  Barking, 
London,  merchant,  aged  thirty-four  years  or  there- 
abouts. This  paper  was  executed  at  the  Guild  Hall, 
of  London,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1657. 

On  November  28,  1654,  the  creditors  named  else- 
where obtained  judgment  against  the  Iron  Works 
Company,  and  levied  upon  all  the  property  of  the 
concern.  Curiously  enough,  these  judgments  were 
had  before  Capt.  Robert  Bridges,  whose  close  con- 

142 


of  Old  Lynn 

nection  with  the  affairs  of  the  company  would  in 
modern  days  have  debarred  him  from  sitting  in  the 
cases. 

Within  a  year,  or  about  January,  1655,  all  the  cred- 
itors had  sold  their  interest  in  the  seized  property  to 
Capt.  Thomas  Savage,  of  Boston,  a  Colonial  dignitary 
and  a  member  of  the  General  Court.  (See  Suffolk 
Deeds,  Liber  2,  pages  265  to  272.) 

In  1657  the  adventurers  were  plainly  of  opinion 
that  they  had  been  deluded  by  the  people  of  the 
Colony  as  to  the  doings  of  Mr.  Gifford.  The  other 
adventurers  made  a  power  of  attorney  to  one  of 
their  number,  John  Becx.  An  indenture  was  signed 
August  25,  1657,  to  which  the  parties  were  John 
Becx,  representing  the  London  Company,  and  John 
Gifford.  We  may  make  extracts  from  this  old-time 
paper  to  show  how  fully  Gifford  had  regained  the 
confidence  of  the  company.  At  this  time,  owing  to 
mismanagement,  or  misfortune,  the  property  or  its 
title  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  Captain  Savage  :  - 

"  Whereas,  the  actings  and  proceedings  of  the  said 
John  Gifford,  who  was  formerly  employed  and  auth- 
orized by  the  said  John  Becx  and  divers  other,  the 
said  adventurers  and  co-partners  touching  and  con- 
cerning the  said  Iron  Works  in  New  England  afore- 
said, were  by  certain  persons  there  then  inhabiting 
misrepresented  unto  the  said  John  Becx  and  them 
the  said  adventurers  who  giving  credit  there  unto 
were  seduced  and  thereby  induced  to  countermand 
his  further  agency  in  and  concerning  the  premises, 
and  thereupon  to  impower,  intrust  and  imploy  cer- 
tain persons  of  New  England,  namely,  Capt.  Robert 

143 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Bridges,  of  Lynn,  Capt.  William  Ting,  of  Boston, 
Henry  Webb  and  Joshua  Foote,  of  the  same,  and 
afterwards  Capt.  Robert  Keayne,  and  Josias  Winslow, 
of  Boston,  aforesaid  in  New  England  deputies  and 
attorneys  for  and  on  the  behalf  of  the  said  John  Becx 
and  other  the  said  adventurers  and  copartners  touch- 
ing the  premises,  who  did  not  pursue  the  directions 
to  them  the  said  deputies  and  attorneys  in  and  by 
ye  several  writings  or  letters  of  attorney  to  them  in 
yt  behalf  given  and  granted,  which  tended  to  the 
great  prejudice  and  damage  of  the  said  adventurers, 
and  copartners  in  their  interests  and  estates,  in  and 
to  the  premises.  Now  this  indenture  witnesseth  that 
the  said  John  Becx  as  well  by  force  and  virtue,  of 
the  said  recited  writing  and  letter  of  attorney,  and 
the  power  therein  to  him  in  that  behalf  granted  as 
aforesaid,  or  other  wise  upon  his  own  interest  doth 
by  these  presents  for  and  on  the  behalf  of  himself, 
and  the  said  other  adventurers  and  copartners  utterly 
revoke  make  null  and  void  the  said  writing  or  letter 
or  letters  of  attorney,  formerly  made  or  granted 
touching  or  concerning  the  said  Iron  Works  to  them 
the  said  Capt.  Robert  Bridges,  Capt.  Robert  Ting, 
Henry  Webb,  Joshua  Foote,  Capt.  Robert  Keayne, 
and  Josias  Winslow  or  any  of  them  or  to  any  other 
person  or  persons  other  than  to  the  said  John  Gifford, 
and  thereupon  the  said  John  Becx,  by  virtue  of  the 
said  power  and  authority  to  him  granted  as  afore- 
said, hath  again  intrusted,  constituted,  authorized, 
deputed,  and  made,  and  by  these  presents  doth  in- 
trust, constitute,  authorize,  depute  and  make  the 
said  John  Gifford,  his  lawful  agent  factor  attorney 
and  assignee  as  well  for  him  the  said  John  Becx,  as 
for  and  on  the  behalf  of  other  ye  adventurers  and 
copartners,  aforesaid  by  all  due  and  legal  ways  and 
means  to  enter  into  and  upon  the  said  Iron  Works, 
iron  mines,  lands,  woods,  houses,  edifices,  and  build- 

144 


of  Old  Lynn 

ings  with  the  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging, 
and  to  question,  examine  and  to  call  to  account  all 
and  all  manner  of  person  and  persons  whatsoever, 
who  now  are  or  have  been  any  wayes  heretofore 
employed,  intrusted,  interested  or  related,  in  unto  or 
concerning  ye  premises  or  had  or  have  the  custody 
or  possession  of  any  the  iron,  iron  ore,  money,  debts, 
stock  or  store  of  cattle,  coal,  wood,  lands,  houses, 
buildings,  and  other  ye  good  instruments,  commodi- 
ties, materials  or  things  whatsoever,  of  or  belonging 
to  the  same  or  any  part  thereof,  and  the  same  prem- 
ises and  every  or  any  part  thereof ;  to  receive  and 
take  into  his  hands  government  regulation  and  dis- 
posals, for  and  unto  the  proper  use,  benefit  and 
behoof  of  the  said  John  Becx,  and  others  the  said 
adventurers  and  copartners,  and  further  to  audite, 
rectify,  settle,  conclude,  and  finish  all  reckonings 
accounts,  and  dealings  depending  or  pretended  to 
be  between  the  said  John  Becx  and  other  the  said 
adventurers  and  co-partners  on  the  one  part  and 
such  other  person  or  persons  in  New  England  afore- 
said or  elsewhere,  on  the  other  part,  as  are  in  any 
wise  concerned  in  the  premises.  And  further  the 
said  John  Becx  doth  by  these  presents,  for  himself 
and  the  said  other  adventurers  and  copartners,  give 
and  grant  to  the  said  John  Gifford  full  power  and 
authority  all  and  every  ye  person  and  persons,  with- 
olding  or  detaining  of  the  said  goods  and  premises, 
and  denying  upon  demand,  to  make  delivery  thereof 
or  any  part  thereof,  unto  the  said  John  Gifford,  for 
him  the  said  John  Becx,  and  in  his  name  and  in  ye 
name  or  names  of  all  or  any,  or  as  many  of  the  said 
adventurers  and  copartners  as  shall  be  thought  fit, 
to  arrest,  attach,  sue,  impead,  imprison,  condemn, 
and  out  of  prison  to  deliver,  release,  acquaint,  and 
discharge  by  writing  or  otherwise/' 

[See  Suffolk  Deeds,  Liber  3,  pages  159  and  160.] 

145 


10 


Hearths  and  Homes 

As  if  it  were  not  enough  for  Gifford  himself  to  be 
in  hot  water  all  the  time,  his  wife  Margaret,  an 
estimable  woman,  was  complained  of  by  Dr.  Philip 
Read,  of  Lynn,  as  being  a  witch. 

The  complainant  said,  "  he  verily  believed  that  she 
was  a  witch,  for  there  were  some  things  which  could 
not  be  accounted  for  by  natural  causes."  Mrs.  Gif- 
ford gave  no  regard  to  her  summons,  and  the  Court 
very  prudently  suspended  their  inquiries. 

The  time  had  not  come  for  the  madness  of  1692, 
which  was  prolific  of  individual  misery.  Yet  to  the 
credit  of  Massachusetts  let  it  be  said  that  here  was 
broken  the  spell  of  demonology  which  had  up  to  that 
time  held  in  chains  the  whole  Christian  world. 

Gifford  seems  to  have  been  a  scapegoat  for  the 
sins  of  people  whom  the  authorities  of  the  Colony 
could  not  reach,  even  beyond  the  biblical  account 
(Leviticus  16  :  10),  for  after  he  had  escaped  to  the 
wilderness  of  the  upper  Saugus  he  was  persecuted 
and  prosecuted  and  imprisoned  for  the  obligations 
of  the  company.  He  was  released  from  imprison- 
ment by  the  General  Court  in  May,  1656,  at  the 
request  of  the  London  undertakers.  Many  years 
later,  October  15,  1684,  he  presented  to  the  Court 
a  petition  relating  that  "  he  hath  now  been  a  prisoner 
upon  execution  fower  yeares  and  seven  months  "  in  a 
matter  in  which  the  principals  were  dead  and  the 
attorney  declined  further  interference,  whereupon 
"The  court,  having  weighed  the  necessitous  and 
perishing  condition  of  the  prisoner,  with  other  con- 
siderations, doe  hereby,  and  declare,  that,  unless 

1-J6 


of  Old  Lynn 

sayd  Walters,  or  some  other  in  behalfe  of  sayd  prin- 
cipall,  doe,  within  ten  dayes,  appear  and  give  caution 
to  the  keeper  for  the  discharge  of  the  prisoners,  and 
other  necessaries  for  the  relieif e  of  the  sayd  prisoner, 
the  secretary  shall  grant  his  warrant  to  the  keeper 
for  his  release,  he,  sd  Gifford  paying  prison  ffees  and 
charges  then  due." 

Then  the  name  of  Gifford  disappears  from  the  Col- 
ony records.  Let  us  trust  that  his  later  years  were 
serenely  passed  in  the  vale  of  Saugus,  where  he  could 
watch  the  morning  sun  gild  Castle  Hill,  while  its 
evening  rays  were  reflected  in  the  glistening  waters  of 
the  pond  with  which  his  life's  labors  were  associated. 

May  25,  1700.  John  Cogswell,  of  Chebacco  Parish, 
Ipswich,  and  his  wife,  Margaret  (Gifford)  Cogswell, 
conveyed  to  Timothy  Wiley  and  Thomas  Hawkes, 
that  part  of  the  farm  "  Lying  where  my  honored 
father,  John  Gifford's  iron  works,  stood/' 

This  conveyance  of  seventy-three  acres  embraced 
the  Howlett's  Mill  property  and  the  land  which  a 
generation  ago  was  the  William  Edmands  farm. 

March  3,  1702-3.  John  Cogswell  and  his  wife, 
Margaret,  conveyed  the  remainder  of  "Gifford's 
farm  "  to  John  Brintnall.  This  covered  one  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  acres,  and  was  what,  of  late  years, 
is  known  as  the  Butterfield  farm,  and  ran  up  to  wrhat 
is  now  the  boundary  line  of  Saugus  and  Lynn  field. 

The  witnesses  to  the  last  conveyance  were  Moses 
Hawkes,  Thomas  Hawkes  and  Thomas  Cheever. 

The  deeds  may  be  found  in  Essex  Deeds,  Book  14, 
page  54,  and  Book  15,  page  124. 

147 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Various  reasons  are  given  to  account  for  the  failure 
of  the  enterprise,  such  as  hostility  of  land  owners, 
fear  of  using  up  the  forests  for  charcoal,  inadequate 
capital.  But  there  was  something  else.  There  was 
a  constant  friction  between  the  foreign  and  home 
management.  The  people  of  the  Colony  thought 
they  ought  to  regulate  affairs,  and  the  people  who 
furnished  the  capital  inclined  to  think  that  they 
could  direct  the  expenditure  of  their  own  money. 
Another  stumbling  block  was  the  distressing  fact 
that  some  of  the  agents  and  employees  of  the  com- 
pany slighted  their  privilege  of  going  to  meeting. 


148 


REAR  VIEW  OF  HOUSE  (MARION  STREET)  ON  WHICH  THE  LYNN  HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY  PLACED  THE  TABLET  INSCRIBED  : 


"BILLY  GRAY  HOUSE." 

THE   BIRTH-PLACE   OF   LIEUT.    GOV. 
WILLIAM   GRAY,  GRANDFATHER   OF 
JUDGE   HORACE   GRAY   OF   THE   U.  S. 
SUPREME   COURT.      ALSO,    THE   RESI- 
DENCE  OF   DR.    JOHN   FLAGG,    AN 
ARDENT   REVOLUTIONARY   PATRIOT. 
CHOSEN  A   MEMBER  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 
OF   SAFETY   IN   1775,    AND   RECEIVED   A 
COMMISSION  AS   COLONEL. 


CAPTAIN  ROBERT  BRIDGES, 

FOUNDER  OF  THE   FIRST  IRON  WORKS  IN  AMERICA. 


iMONG  the  Puritan  worthies  who  planted  the 
Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  was  first 
as  to  public  service  in  the  settlement  of 


Lynn  was  a  man  known  to  his  contemporaries,  in 
the  stately  language  of  the  times,  as  the  Worshipful 
Captain  Robert  Bridges.  His  home  was  on  the  west 
bank  of  Saugus  River,  upon  what  is  now  Central 
Street  in  Saugus  Centre,  southwest  from  "  the  Cinder 
Banks."  His  years  in  Lynn  were  not  many  in  num- 
ber, but  crowded  with  activities  public  and  private. 
He  took  the  freeman's  oath  June  2,  1641,  the  form 
of  which,  as  prescribed  by  the  General  Court  as  early 
as  1634,  is  significant  of  the  intentions  of  the  settlers 
from  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  the  government 
of  the  King.  It  reads  as  follows  :  - 

"I,  A.  B.,  being  by  God's  providence  an  inhabitant 
and  freeman  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  common- 
wealth, do  freely  acknowledge  myself  to  be  subject 
to  the  government  thereof,  and  therefore  do  swear 
by  the  great  and  dreadful  name  of  the  ever-living 
God  that  I  will  be  true  and  faithful  to  the  same,  and 
will  accordingly  yield  assistance  and  support  there- 
unto, with  my  person  and  estate,  as  in  equity  I  am 
bound,  and  will  also  truly  endeavor  to  maintain  and 

149 


Hearths  and  Homes 

preserve  all  the  liberties  and  privileges  thereof,  sub- 
mitting myself  to  the  wholesome  laws  and  orders 
made  and  established  by  the  same  ;  and  further,  that 
I  will  not  plot  nor  practice  any  evil  against  it,  nor 
consent  to  any  that  shall  do  so,  but  will  timely  dis- 
cover and  reveal  the  same  to  lawful  authority  now 
here  established,  for  the  speedy  preventing  thereof. 
Moreover,  I  do  solemnly  bind  myself,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  that  when  I  shall  be  called  to  give  my  voice 
touching  any  such  matter  of  this  state,  wherein  free- 
men are  to  deal,  I  will  give  my  vote  and  suffrage  as  I 
shall  judge  in  mine  own  conscience  may  best  conduce 
and  tend  to  the  public  weal  of  the  body,  without 
respect  of  persons  or  favor  of  any  man.  So  help  me 
God,  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

In  the  same  year  that  Mr.  Bridges  took  the  oath 
he  became  a  member  of  the  "Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company,"  and  also  was  made  Captain  of 
the  Lynn  Militia  Company.  In  1642  he  went  to 
London  and  formed  the  Iron  Works  Company,  as 
related  elsewhere.  He  returned  with  the  younger 
Winthrop,  whom  he  had  interested  in  the  cause.  In 
1644  he  became  a  member  of  the  Quarterly  Court  at 
Salem,  and  was  elected  a  Deputy  to  the  General  Court 
from  Lynn  —  also  in  1645  and  1646,  in  which  latter 
year  he  was  made  Speaker. 

Under  the  Colonial  Charter  a  very  large  portion  of 
the  governing  power  of  the  Colony  was  vested  in  a 
select  and  limited  body  of  influential  men,  known  as 
the  Governor  and  Assistants.  During  the  whole  of 
what  is  called  the  Colonial  period,  from  1630  to  1692, 
Lynn  was  only  represented  in  this  Board  by  two  per- 

150 


of  Old  Lynn 

sons.  The  first  was  John  Humfrey,  one  of  the  men 
to  whom  the  Charter  was  granted,  who  had  come 
over  with  his  wife  —  the  daughter  of  the  great  Puri- 
tan nobleman,  Earl  of  Lincoln  —  as  a  promoter  of 
the  Colony  rather  than  as  a  permanent  settler.  After 
the  success  of  the  movement  was  assured  he  returned 
to  England.  Captain  Bridges  was  chosen  an  Assist- 
ant in  1646,  and  remained  in  the  office  till  his  death 
in  1656.  He  went  to  the  Board  of  Assistants  directly 
from  the  speakership  of  the  House  of  Deputies  or 
Representatives.  As  Speaker  he  stands  alone  as  the 
only  Lynn  man  who  was  advanced  to  that  honorable 
post  during  the  Colonial  period. 

John  Burrill,  "the  beloved  speaker,"  subsequently 
held  similar  positions,  but  his  service  was  after  the 
Puritan  experiment  of  a  free  commonwealth  had 
been  suspended  by  the  Charter  of  William  and  Mary, 
and  Massachusetts  was  ruled  by  Governors  appointed 
by  the  King  instead  of  chosen  by  the  people.  Speaker 
Burrill's  house,  on  the  southern  slope  of  Tower  Hill, 
also  looked  out  upon  the  river  where  the  tides 
covered  the  great  marshes  upon  its  banks. 

A  paper  somewhat  noted  in  our  local  annals,  bear- 
ing the  autographs  of  many  of  the  first  settlers, 
called  the  "Armitage  petition,"  appears  in  Mr. 
Bridges'  handwriting,  and  shows  him  to  have  been 
an  elegant  penman.  The  document  is  a  prayer  of 
the  leading  citizens  :  - 

"  That  Jane  Armitage  may  be  licensed  to  keep  the 
ordinary,  instead  of  her  husband  Joseph,  whose  '  la- 

151 


Hearths  and  Homes 

bours  &  indeauors  have  beene  blasted,  and  his  aims  & 
ends  frustrated  by  a  just  hand,  beinge  also  made 
incapable  of  such  other  ymploym1  as  hee  is  personally 
fitted  for  by  reason  of  the  sensure  vnder  wch  for  the 
prsent  he  lyeth  &  alsoe  being  outed  of  such  trade  & 
comerce  as  might  have  afforded  supportacon  to  his 
familie  consistinge  of  Diuers  prsons  &  small  Chil- 
dren in  comiseracon  of  whom,  togither  with  yor 
peticonesse,  the  inhabitants  of  or  town  were  pleased 
(as  farr  as  in  them  lay)  to  continue  yor  poore  peti- 
conesse in  the  Custodie  of  the  said  Ordinary,  &  that 
benefitt  wch  might  accrew  from  the  same  to  take 
towards  makeinge  of  theire  Hues  the  more  comfort- 
able ;  wherevpon  &  by  reason  whereof  yor  peticonesse 
said  husband  procured  the  most  convenient  howse  in 
Lynn  for  the  purpose  albeit  itt  was  very  ruinous  & 
much  cost  bestowed  respectinge  his  prsent  condicon 
in  repaireinge  &  fittinge  vp  of  the  same  accordingly/  ' 

The  first  signers  were  Samuel  Whiting,  pastor,  and 
Thomas  Cobbett,  teacher,  of  the  Church  of  Lynn ; 
then,  at  a  respectful  distance,  follow  the  names  of 
the  laymen,  led  by  the  clear  signature  of  Robert 
Bridges.  It  would  make  a  modern  Board  of  Alder- 
men or  Selectmen  amazed  to  receive  a  petition  for 
a  tavern  license  signed  by  the  clergymen  of  the 
place.  The  tavern  was  the  old  "Anchor,"  a  noted 
hostelry  for  many  generations  down  to  the  time 
when  Landlord  Jacob  Newhall  kept  it,  and  occupied 
the  best  pew  in  the  Third  Parish  Meeting-house  by 
virtue  of  paying  the  largest  Parish  tax.  If  the 
saintly  Whiting  and  the  astute  Bridges  had  lived  in 
these  days  the  whole  pack  of  wiseacre  agitators  would 
have  been  barking  at  their  heels.  They  were  ac- 

152 


of  Old  Lynn 

counted  godly  and  wise  men  in  their  day  and  genera- 
tion. Is  it  not  possible  that  their  conservatism  and 
regulation  were  the  fruit  of  deep  observation  of 
human  nature  —  which  human  nature  is  about  the 
same  now  as  then? 

We  know  less  of  the  manner  of  life  of  Mr.  Bridges 
than  of  many  of  his  contemporaries  who  were  not 
half  as  influential,  because  he  lacked  certain  angular 
points  that  marked  them.  We  hear  much  about  his 
neighbor,  Farmer  Dexter,  because  his  temper  brought 
him  into  trouble  as  a  reviler  of  dignitaries.  We  are 
familiar  with  Bennet,  because  he  was  a  common 
sleeper  in  meeting,  and  by  reason  of  his  litigation 
with  the  Iron  Works  Company.  We  get  an  idea  of 
what  manner  of  man  Captain  Marshall  was  from  the 
yarns  he  spun  about  his  service  with  Cromwell  - 
which  stories  his  guests  recorded  in  their  note-books 
and  then  printed.  Others  are  pictured  to  us  through 
family  tradition.  Yet  we  can  without  any  of  these 
aids  form  a  fair  estimate  of  the  daily  life  of  this 
Puritan  pioneer.  That  he  walked  in  straitest  Puri- 
tan ways  his  constant  service  in  the  Board  of  Assist- 
ants testifies. 

Historians  are  fond  of  enlarging  upon  the  power 
of  the  Puritan  clergy.  In  one  very  important  matter 
they  had  absolutely  no  authority.  John  Winthrop 
and  his  followers  regarded  marriage  as  a  purely 
civil  contract.  Speaking  of  them  Governor  Hutchin- 
son  says  :  "  I  suppose  there  had  been  no  instance  of 
a  marriage  lawfully  celebrated  by  a  layman  in 
England  when  they  left  it.  I  believe  there  was 

153 


Hearths  and  Homes 

no  instance  of  marriage  by  a  clergyman  after  they 
arrived  during  their  Charter,  but  the  service  was 
always  performed  by  a  magistrate,  or  by  persons 
specially  appointed  in  particular  towns  or  districts." 
The  magistrates  were  the  Governor,  the  Deputy 
Governor  and  the  Assistants.  For  ten  years,  from 
1646  to  1656,  one  of  the  functions  of  Mr.  Bridges 
was  the  legalizing  the  union  of  the  young  people 
of  Lynn  in  the  state  of  matrimony. 

The  Colonial  statute  regarding  the  ceremony  of 
marriage  was  passed  in  the  year  that  Captain  Bridges 
became  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Assistants.  As  an 
illustration  of  Puritan  views  the  following  is  copied 
from  "  The  Book  of  the  General  Laws  and  Liberty es 
concerning  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Massachusets,  col- 
lected out  of  the  Records  of  the  General  Court,  for 
the  years  wherein  they  were  made  and  established," 
and  printed  in  Cambridge  in  1660  :  - 

"As  the  Ordinance  of  Marriage  is  honourable 
amongst  all,  so  should  it  be  accordingly  solemnized. 
It  is  therefore  Ordered  by  this  Court  and  Authority 
thereof.  That  no  person  whatsoever  in  this  jurisdic- 
tion, shall  joyne  any  persons  together  in  Marriage, 
but  the  magistrate,  or  such  other  as  the  General 
Court,  or  Court  of  Assistants  shal  Authorize  in  such 
place,  where  no  Magistrate  is  near.  Nor  shal  any 
joyne  themselves  in  marriage,  but  before  some  mag- 
istrate or  person  authorized  as  aforesaid.  Nor  shal 
any  magistrate,  or  other  person  authorized  as  afore- 
said, joyne  any  persons  together  in  marriage,  or 
suffer  them  to  joyne  together  in  marriage  in  their 
presence,  before  the  parties  to  be  marryed  have 
been  published  according  to  Law." 

154 


of  Old  Lynn 

After  the  death  of  Captain  Bridges  Lynn  was  one 
of  the  places  described  as  "where  no  magistrate  is 
near."  It  may  seem  strange  to  those  who  have  been 
taught  that  our  fathers  were  a  stern  race  to  learn 
that  the  man  selected  to  succeed  Mr.  Bridges  in  tying 
the  nuptial  knot  was  the  redoubtable  Thomas  Mar- 
shall, formerly  parliamentary  soldier,  transformed 
into  the  jolly  Boniface  of  the  Blew  Anchor.  Yet  he 
was  thus  empowered  by  the  General  Court  on  the 
eighteenth  of  October,  1659.  The  Records  of  the 
Quarterly  Court  also  state  that  during  the  next 
month,  November,  "  Thomas  Marshall,  of  Lynn,  is 
alowed  by  this  Court,  to  sell  strong  water  to  trav- 
ellers, and  also  other  meet  provisions."  Thus  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Lynn  who  dared  the  perils  of 
either  matrimony  or  of  "strong  water"  thereafter 
applied  at  the  door  of  the  old  tavern  which  has  been 
so  lovingly  immortalized  by  our  local  historians. 

With  his  other  accomplishments  Captain  Bridges 
was  a  skillful  diplomat.  From  1632  to  1654,  the 
famed  land  of  Acadia,  extending  from  Nova  Scotia 
to  the  cloud-covered  domes  of  the  isle  of  the  desert 
mountains,  was  in  possession  of  France.  Two  rival 
French  governors,  D'Aulnay  and  La  Tour,  fought 
for  supremacy.  La  Tour  sought  aid  from  Massachu- 
setts. It  required  shrewd  management  to  avoid 
entanglement  with  the  crafty  Frenchmen,  and  con- 
sequent war  with  the  offended  party.  Finally  in 
1645  a  treaty  was  signed,  pledging  the  Colonists  to 
neutrality.  Captain  Bridges  was  the  Massachusetts 
Commissioner.  He  was  accompanied  by  Richard 

155 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Walker  and  Thomas  Marshall,  both  valiant  soldiers, 
whose  homes  were  upon  the  shores  of  Saugus  River. 
Pecuniary  compensation  was  then  exceedingly  mod- 
est ;  for  "  good  services  in  this  mission  Captain 
Bridges  was  allowed  ten  pounds,  Lieutenant  Walker 
four  pounds  and  Sergeant  Marshall  forty  shillings. 
In  the  young  Puritan  Commonwealth  public  service 
was  a  duty  to  be  freely  rendered. 

Even  in  the  present  age,  when  the  shrill  whistle 
of  the  mammoth  steamer  echoes  against  the  rock- 
ribbed  headlands  of  Maine,  and  the  muffled  response 
of  distant  lighthouse  bells  peals  mournfully  across 
the  sullen  waters  from  Boone  Island  or  Monhegan 
or  Owlshead,  the  voyage  to  the  Acadia  of  song  and 
history  is  weird  and  exciting.  When  Robert  Bridges 
and  his  companions  skirted  the  grim  coast  in  clumsy 
sailing-vessels,  the  only  sounds  that  broke  upon  the 
ear  were  the  flapping  sails,  the  splash  of  waters  cut 
by  the  sharp  prow,  or  the  sombre  waves  beating  upon 
some  dangerous  reef.  The  land  to  which  they  jour- 
neyed was  filled  with  their  hereditary  enemies  —  the 
murderous  Indian  and  the  Jesuit  Frenchman.  Al- 
though nearly  two  and  a  half  centuries  ago,  and  the 
actors  all  gone,  the  scenes  remain  almost  as  they 
were  then  —  the  uneasy,  ever-moving  sea,  Mount 
Agamenticus  against  the  sky,  the  blue  hills  of  Cam- 
den,  and  above  all  that  calm,  steady  guide  of  marin- 
ers, the  North  Star,  still  and  forever  pointing  onward. 
Bridges  and  his  colleagues  diplomatically  steered 
their  bark  between  Scylla  and  Charybdis.  The  con- 
federacy of  New  England  held  aloof  from  the 

156 


of  Old  Lynn 

contestants  ;  D'Aulnay  captured  La  Tour's  fort  at 
St.  Johns,  and  the  fortune  of  war  went  against 
La  Tour,  who  was  apparently  ruined.  D'Aulnay, 
however,  opportunely  died,  whereupon  La  Tour 
married  his  widow  and  recovered  his  lost  posses- 
sions. 

As  a  fit  sequel  to  this  episode,  Cromwell,  who  was 
ever  watchful  of  the  Colonies,  sent  secret  instructions 
to  Boston,  which  resulted  in  the  subjugation  of  the 
whole  of  Acadia  by  Massachusetts  in  1654.  It 
remained  in  possession  of  the  English  while  Crom- 
well lived ;  then  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  in  1667, 
Charles  II  ceded  Acadia  with  its  vast  and  undefined 
limits  to  France,  to  become  a  football  of  European 
intrigues  for  a  century. 

Mr.  Newhall  in  his  history  of  Lynn,  while  giving 
Mr.  Bridges  full  credit  for  his  talents  and  strong 
character,  seems  to  think  he  was  hard  and  masterful 
in  his  relations  with  inferiors.  It  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  he  was  a  magistrate  in  a  new  country 
where  it  was  considered  necessary  to  hold  a  tight 
rein  over  the  conduct  of  adventurers  who  disturbed 
the  well-ordered  plan  of  the  Puritan  theocracy. 
Violators  of  established  rules  naturally  complained 
of  those  who  restrained  them.  His  associates  found 
nothing  in  him  to  condemn.  Robert  Keayne,  the 
eminent  merchant  of  Boston,  the  first  commander 
of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company, 
unconsciously  put  on  record  testimony  of  his  domestic 
life  when  he  wrote  in  his  will  these  words  :  "  I  have 
forgott  one  Loveing  Couple  more  that  came  not  to 

157 


Hearths  and  Homes 

my  minde  till  I  was  shutting  vp ;  that  is  Cap1  Bridges 
&  wife  to  whom  I  give  forty  shillings." 

No  man  who  lacked  suavity  and  winning  social 
manners  could  have  persuaded  calculating  London 
merchants  to  have  ventured  their  dearly  loved  funds 
in  an  iron  works  experiment  across  the  Atlantic,  in 
a  savage  and  unknown  land.  To  negotiate  a  success- 
ful treaty  with  subtle  Frenchmen  required  all  the 
powers  of  a  keen  and  polished  man  of  affairs.  The 
uniform  success  of  Mr.  Bridges  in  everything  he 
undertook,  his  continued  advancement  in  places  of 
trust  and  power,  are  better  witnesses  for  our  judg- 
ment of  his  character  than  the  whine  of  those  who 
felt  his  righteous  discipline. 

Edward  Johnson  in  his  "  Wonder- Working  Provi- 
dence" thus  tersely  sums  up  the  character  of  Mr. 
Bridges  :  "  He  was  endued  with  able  parts,  and  for- 
ward to  improve  them  to  the  Glory  of  God  and  his 
people's  good." 


158 


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THE  OLD  TUNNEL  MEETING-HOUSE 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  TOWN  FROM  THE 
PARISH.1 


N  the  first  edition  of  "  Lewis'  History  of 
Lynn"  in  the  annals  under  date  1805,  Mr. 
Lewis  wrote :  - 

"  For  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  years,  from 
the  building  of  the  first  parish  meeting-house,  the 
people  had  annually  assembled  in  it  for  the  transac- 
tion of  their  municipal  concerns.  But  this  year,  the 
members  of  that  parish  observing  the  damage  which 
such  meetings  occasioned  to  the  house,  and  believing 
that,  since  the  incorporation  of  other  parishes,  the 
town  had  no  title  in  it,  refused  to  have  it  occupied 
as  a  town-house.  This  refusal  occasioned  much  con- 
troversy between  the  town  and  parish,  and  committees 
were  appointed  by  both  parties  to  accomplish  an 
adjustment.  An  engagement  was  partially  made  for 
the  occupation  of  the  house,  on  the  payment  of 
twenty-eight  dollars  annually ;  but  the  town  refused 
to  sanction  the  agreement,  and  the  meetings  were 
removed  to  the  Methodist  meeting-house,  on  the 
eastern  part  of  the  common." 

This  statement  unabridged  and  unenlarged  upon 
stands  in  each  subsequent  edition  of  Lewis  and  of 
Newhall. 

1  Lynn  Historical  Society,  December  14,  1898. 


Hearths  and  Homes 

If  the  records  of  the  Parish  and  Town  had  been 
written  out  fully,  there  would  have  been  much  of 
historical  interest  in  what  might  have  been  the 
dramatic  ending  of  the  Puritan  problem  of  a  union 
of  Church  and  State,  Parish  and  Town,  in  Lynn. 

To  attempt  to  relate  the  story  of  how  the  modern 
Lynn  with  its  plethora  of  religious  sects  was  evolved 
from  a  Puritan  parish  would  be  too  much  of  a  tax 
upon  your  patience  for  an  evening's  talk. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  Lynn  is  the  fact  that 
two  men,  Mr.  Lewis  and  Mr.  Newhall,  who  have  done 
so  much  to  elucidate  our  history,  were  not  in  touch 
with  that  amazing  religious  reformation  which  created 
the  short-lived  Commonwealth  of  England  and  the 
enduring  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  While 
each  was  loyal  to  his  native  town,  each  was  proud 
of  his  connection  with  the  Church,  the  protesting 
against  conformity  with  which  was  the  moving  cause 
of  the  settling  of  Massachusetts.  If  our  historian 
had  been  a  Congregationalist,  either  Unitarian  or 
Trinitarian,  he  would  have  found  a  theme  of  interest 
in  tracing  the  sequence  of  events  which  led  to  this 
controversy. 

The  theory  of  the  Puritan  planters  was  that  the 
fee  of  all  lands  was  in  the  Company,  and  that  grants 
for  plantations  were  made  for  the  settlement  of  a 
Parish,  and  incidentally  for  the  civil  concerns  of  such 
Parish.  A  prime  concern  of  the  Parish  and  its  crea- 
ture the  Town  was  the  support  of  the  ministry. 
Hence  the  Town  in  granting  to  individuals  made  it 
a  condition  that  all  the  land  should  bear  its  share  in 

160 


of  Old  Lynn 

the  common  burdens  of  the  Town,  an  important  item 
of  which  was  the  ministry. 

Rev.  Dr.  Parsons  Cooke,  Lynn's  most  profound 
student  of  and  brilliant  writer  upon  the  early  days, 
says :  — 

"  This  was  the  obligation  which  lay  upon  the  land, 
a  reserve  tacitly  made  in  the  original  grant,  and 
which  could  not  be  nullified  in  passing  from  one 
owner  to  another.  It  was  a  condition  in  the  deed 
which  bound  and  attached  it  to  the  titles  of  all  future 
owners." 

The  Puritan  plan  of  carrying  on  all  affairs  eccle- 
siastical and  civic  in  the  Parish  seems  to  have  worked 
without  friction  in  Lynn  until  the  Colonial  Charter 
was  abrogated  and  the  usurpation  of  Sir  Edmund 
Andros  had  been  ended  and  the  Provincial  Charter 
was  in  full  force.  For  nearly  a  hundred  years  the 
Puritan  Theocracy  had  dominated  New  England. 
Great  changes  took  place  in  the  era  of  the  Provincial 
Charter  and  of  the  Royal  Governors. 

The  Tunnel  Meeting-house1  had  been  built  by 
assessment  upon  all  the  acres  of  the  whole  Town 
in  1682. 

In  spite  of  the  locating  of  new  parishes  and  the 
setting  up  of  rival  denominations,  the  meeting-house 

aThe  illustration  of  The  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-House  —  not  the 
first  meeting-house,  but  the  first  erected  on  the  Common  —  accom- 
panying this  is  a  fac  simile  of  a  pen  sketch  made  by  Alonzo  Lewis, 
the  historian  and  bard  of  Lynn,  found  among  his  papers,  and  now, 
by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Charles  Henry  Newhall,  in  the  possession 
of  the  Lynn  Historical  Society. 

161 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  the  First  Parish  was  the  place  of  meeting  for  all 
purposes  of  the  Town  for  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  years,  as  Mr.  Lewis  recorded. 

The  first  break  in  the  Parish  was  a  legitimate  one 
even  from  the  Puritan  standpoint.  It  was  a  long 
distance  for  the  farmers  of  Lynn  End  or  Lynnfield 
to  travel  to  worship  on  Lynn  Common  in  the  short 
winter  days  when  they  frequently  had  more  severe 
snow-storms  than  we  had  upon  the  last  night  of 
January  of  the  present  year. 

Recognizing  this  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of 
proper  observance  of  the  Lord's  Day,  the  Town  voted, 
November  17,  1712 :  - 

"In  answer  to  the  petition  of  our  neighbors,  the 
farmers,  so  called,  dated  Feb.  13,  1711,  desiring  to 
be  a  precinct,  that  all  the  part  of  the  town  that  lies 
on  the  northerly  side  of  that  highway  that  leads 
from  Salem  to  Reading  be  set  off  for  a  precinct,  and 
when  they  shall  have  a  meeting-house  and  a  minister, 
qualified  according  to  law,  settled  to  preach  the  word 
of  God  amongst  them,  then  they  shall  be  wholly 
freed  from  paying  to  the  ministry  of  the  Town  and 
not  before.  And  if  afterwards  they  shall  cease  to 
maintain  a  minister  amongst  them  then  to  pay  to 
the  minister  of  the  Town  as  heretofore." 

The  conditions  of  the  above  vote  were  complied 
with,  and  in  1720  Lynnfield  became  a  Precinct  and 
the  Second  Parish  of  Lynn,  and  exempt  from  paying 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Town. 

The  first  alien  denomination  to  set  up  a  meeting 
was  in  the  troubled  time  of  Andros.  On  the  18th  of 


of  Old  Lynn 

5th  month,  1689,  the  Friends  held  their  first  monthly 
meeting  at  Lynn.  They  had  previously,  in  1678, 
erected  a  meeting-house  on  Wolf  Hill,  on  what  is 
now  Broad  Street,  upon  the  land  still  owned  by  the 
Society. 

The  incursion  of  the  Quakers  was  the  first  serious 
menace  of  the  Puritan  domination  and  the  most 
serious  till  the  advent  of  Methodism  a  century  later. 
Of  the  good  sense  of  the  Parish  in  this  matter  Dr. 
Cooke  says :  "  The  friction  engendered  by  the  re- 
quirement that  all  the  Colonists  should  be  taxed  to 
support  the  ministry  was  one  of  the  greatest  sources 
of  disaster  to  the  Puritan  cause.  But  the  Parish 
in  Lynn  took  early  measures  to  mitigate  the  evils 
of  this  law,  and  so  far  to  relax  its  force  as  to  main- 
tain good  neighborhood  with  the  Quakers.  In  the 
year  1722  they  voted  :  - 

" '  The  Parish  considering  that  sundry  of  our  neigh- 
bors called  Quakers,  who  have  in  times  past  re- 
quested to  be  dismissed  from  paying  taxes  to  our 
minister,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Henchman,  which  in  some 
respects  hath  been  granted,  —  but  now  our  Parish 
observing  said  Quakers  frequently  purchasing  lands, 
that  have  usually  paid  to  the  support  of  our  minister 
in  times  past,  and  under  like  obligation  with  our 
other  lands  to  pay  to  the  maintenance  of  our  minis- 
ter, —  wherefore,  voted,  that  all  the  lands  belonging 
to  said  Parish,  purchased  by  said  Quakers  (not  mean- 
ing one  of  another)  since  the  settlement  of  our 
present  minister,  as  also  all  other  ratable  lands,  in 
whose  hands  soever,  shall  for  the  future  pay  to  said 
Parish,  excepting  only  such  lands  and  estates  of  the 

163 


Hearths  and  Homes 

several  Quakers  hereafter  named,  now  freed  from 
paying  to  the  Parish  the  present  year,  and  the  same 
to  be  at  the  discretion  of  the  Parish,  from  year  to 
year,  whether  to  pay  or  not.' ' 

Then  follows  a  list  of  fifteen  persons  that  were 
exempt.  Similar  votes,  exempting  individuals  in 
about  the  same  number,  were  passed  from  year  to 
year  for  several  years.  From  this  it  seems  that  it 
had  been  the  custom  before  this  to  exempt  individu- 
als to  some  extent. 

The  Society  of  Friends,  considering  its  antagonistic 
origin,  has  little  to  complain  of  Puritan  intolerance 
in  Lynn.  The  Friends  were  thrifty  and  were  adroit 
manipulators  of  men.  They  not  only  secured  an 
exemption  of  their  lands  from  contribution  towards 
support  of  the  ministry,  but  they  exhibited  a  juggling 
feat  with  the  schools  such  as  no  other  society  here 
ever  approached. 

Wherever  in  this  country  the  Roman  Catholics 
have  asked  for  a  division  of  school  funds,  the  Prot- 
estants have  with  one  accord  sounded  the  tocsin  of 
alarm. 

The  early  Friends  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Second,  through  the  friendship  between  James,  Duke 
of  York,  and  William  Penn,  had  a  suspiciously  close 
bond  of  union  with  the  Catholics  in  their  common 
dislike  of  Puritanism.  Both  Friends  and  Roman 
Catholics  have  always  professed  a  strong  desire  for 
a  guarded  religious  training  for  the  young  of  their 
sects.  Later  developments  reveal  how  in  the  fulness 
of  time  this  scheme  worked  in  Lynn. 

164 


of  Old  Lynn 

In  a  paper  on  the  "  Origin  of  Quakerism,"  prepared 
by  Samuel  Boyce,  it  is  related  :  - 

"In  1784,  application  was  made  to  the  selectmen 
of  Lynn  for  the  proportion  of  the  money  which 
Friends  were  annually  paying  for  the  support  of  the 
public  schools  to  be  refunded  to  them,  in  order  that 
it  might  be  used  towards  defraying  the  expenses  of 
their  own  school.  Objections  were  at  first  made  to 
this  request,  but  after  some  time  had  elapsed  Friends 
were  allowed  to  draw  back  annually  a  portion  of  this 
money  for  that  purpose.  The  school  was  continued 
about  forty  years,  and  this  privilege  was  granted 
them  most  of  the  time." 

Not  only  were  the  Friends  allowed  their  propor- 
tion of  the  school  fund,  but  they  were  (as  a  Society) 
permitted  to  choose  members  of  the  School  Commit- 
tee, and  were  wherever  they  lived  a  Ward  of  the 
Town. 

Thus  was  established  a  full-fledged  and  original 
parochial  school  on  the  soil  of  Puritan  Lynn. 

The  Methodists  attempted  the  same  project,  but 
in  Town  Meeting,  February  23,  1792,  it  was  voted 
"  That  the  Methodists  do  not  draw  their  part  of  the 
school  money  back." 

In  1821  the  Friends'  parochial  school  was  done 
away  with  by  a  vote  "  That  the  Town  be  redistricted 
anew,  as  it  respects  the  several  schools  without  any 
regard  to  any  particular  religious  society." 

It  was  not  till  the  close  of  Rev.  Jeremiah  Shepard's 
happy  and  united  pastorate  of  forty-one  years  that 
the  First  Parish  and  the  people  of  Lynn  realized 

165 


Hearths  and  Homes 

that  the  golden  age  of  the  Puritan  Theocracy  had 
passed  —  that  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  concerns  of 
the  whole  people  were  not  within  the  scope  of  the 
First  Parish. 

Lynnfield  had  become  an  independent  parish,  and 
the  Friends  within  the  territory  of  the  First  Parish 
had  become  landowners  exempt  from  Parish  taxes 
and  voters  in  Town  meetings.  The  most  laconic  and 
yet  comprehensive  statement  of  the  actual  divorce 
of  Parish  and  Town  is  to  be  found  in  Dr.  Cooke's 
"Centuries"  (page  196) :  - 

"Several  noteworthy  events  affecting  the  Parish 
took  place  during  Mr.  Henchman's  ministry.  The 
next  year  after  his  settlement,  that  is,  1721,  the 
Parish  ceased  to  have  its  business  done  in  town  meet- 
ing. The  separation  was  effected  on  this  wise  :  At  a 
town  meeting  there  was  an  adjournment  of  Town 
business  for  half  an  hour  to  give  the  members  of 
the  Parish  time  for  preliminary  action.  Then  in  a 
meeting  ordered  by  those  of  the  selectmen  belonging 
to  the  Parish,  a  vote  of  members  of  the  Parish  was 
passed,  ordering  Richard  Johnson  and  Theophilus 
Burrill  to  call  a  Parish  meeting  for  organizing.  The 
meeting  was  called,  and  a  hundred  voters  attended 
and  unanimously  concurred  in  the  proceedings." 

Dr.  Cooke  is  so  confident  in  his  facts  that  he  does 
not  trouble  himself  with  giving  authorities  that 
might  lighten  the  labors  of  later  gleaners  in  the  local 
historical  field,  hence  it  was  a  pleasing  surprise  to 
find  that  his  statement  was  an  almost  exact  tran- 
script of  the  record  of  the  Town  Meeting  held 

166 


of  Old  Lynn 

March  5,  1721-22.  That  event,  so  tersely  recorded, 
was  one  of  the  milestones  in  our  history.  It  marked 
the  close  of  a  century  of  homogeneous  Colonial  life 
under  the  teachings  of  pure  Calvinism  expounded 
by  three  saintly  Puritan  men,  Whiting,  Cobbet  and 
Shepard. 

The  Town  record  was  made  as  if  an  ordinary  event 
was  chronicled.  Very  few,  if  any,  more  striking  and 
pregnant  happenings  ever  took  place  within  the  walls 
of  the  Old  Tunnel  Meeting-house.  The  record  was 
coolly  made.  The  actors  so  far  as  we  know  were  as 
"  impassive  as  the  marble  in  the  quarry,"  utterly  un- 
conscious of  the  passing  of  the  Puritan  idea  and  the 
incoming  of  the  modern  Town  Meeting,  divested  of 
all  ecclesiastical,  and  clothed  with  only  civic  powers. 

On  the  surface  it  would  appear  that  this  separation 
should  include  a  discontinuance  of  the  use  of  the 
meeting-house  for  the  transaction  of  Town  business. 

On  the  contrary,  the  Town  used  the  building  in  all 
its  official  affairs  for  more  than  three-quarters  of  a 
century  after  this  time.  Within  its  homely  walls 
men  of  the  First  Parish,  Friends,  the  voters  of  Lynn- 
field  and  of  Saugus  debated  and  made  appropriations 
for  Town  purposes  while  much  history  was  making 
itself. 

The  great  Provincial  feat  of  arms  —  the  capture  of 
Louisburg  (the  French  Gibraltar  in  America)  —  by 
Massachusetts  soldiers  and  sailors  in  1745,  happened 
while  the  Old  Tunnel  remained  the  Council  House  of 
the  Town. 

Lexington,  Concord  Bunker  Hill,  the  War  of  the 

167 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Revolution,  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution, 
the  Presidency  of  Washington  and  of  the  elder  Adams 
and  other  marvelous  events  occurred  while  the  vil- 
lage Solons  continued  there  to  discuss  problems  of 
social  life. 

Three  generations  walked  up  and  down  the  sombre 
aisles  ere  the  friction  between  Parish  and  Town 
became  apparent,  which  resulted  in  1806,  in  the 
abandonment  by  or  the  expulsion  of  the  Town  from 
the  meeting-house. 

In  order  to  show  the  tense  relations  of  the  people 
—  the  conservative  clinging  of  the  townspeople  to 
the  old  house  even  after  they  had  forsaken  the  faith 
therein  preached  —  some  reports  and  votes  have  been 
culled  from  the  records.  Only  a  small  fraction  of 
the  voluminous  records  is  copied,  and  that  not  con- 
secutively, but  barely  enough  to  give  a  hint  of  the 
importance  of  the  issue  in  the  minds  of  the  fathers. 
First  we  copy  from  the  Parish  Records.  By  the 
Parish  Records  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Parish  in  the 
beginning  of  the  contention  did  not  absolutely  bar 
the  Town  from  its  house,  but  simply  insisted  that  it 
should  only  be  used  in  rotation  with  the  other  meet- 
ing-houses in  Town  —  that  is,  that  the  hitherto  un- 
divided burden  of  the  Parish  in  providing  shelter  for 
the  Town  should  be  divided  and  borne  in  part  by  the 
other  societies. 

March  20,  1805,  the  Parish 

"  Voted  that  the  Town  shall  not  in  the  future  hold 
their  Town  Meetings  in  the  First  Parish  meeting- 

168 


of  Old  Lynn 

house  only  in  rotation,  and  the  April  meeting  to  be 
considered  as  one. 

"Voted  that  the  Parish  committee  be  directed  to 
notify  the  selectmen  of  this  vote." 

January  9,  1806  :  - 

"  Voted  to  accept  of  the  report  of  their  committee, 
which  is  as  follows,  viz. :  The  Parish,  at  their  meet- 
ing in  March  last,  voted  that  it  was  not  their  choice 
that  the  Town  should  hold  any  Town  Meeting  in 
future  in  the  said  Parish  meeting-house  unless  by 
rotation  in  the  several  meeting-houses  in  Town,  and 
that  the  meeting  in  April  then  next  ensuing  might 
be  holden  in  said  house  as  the  first  in  rotation,  —  the 
meeting  was  accordingly  held  in  said  house,  and  in 
May  following,  the  Town  voted  that  their  meeting 
should  be  holden  in  rotation  in  the  several  meeting- 
houses in  Town. 

"  The  selectmen  of  the  Town  now  ask  leave  of  the 
First  Parish  to  hold  their  next  Town  Meeting  in 
their  meeting-house  as  the  first  meeting  in  the  rota- 
tion. Although  the  Parish  conceive  that  they  have 
already  taken  their  turn  yet  they  are  willing  to 
sacrifice  their  own  private  interest  and  feelings,  and 
submit  to  a  partial  evil  for  the  general  good,  it  is 
therefore  voted  that  the  Town  be  permitted  to  hold 
their  next  meeting  in  the  said  house  as  the  first  in 
the  rotation.  Provided  that  the  next  meeting  be 
holden  and  finished  previously  to  the  first  day  of 
March  next. 

Signed  by  the  committee, 

JAMES  GARDNER. 
WM.  MANSFIELD. 
FRED  BREED. 
THOMAS  RHODES. 
CHARLES  NEWHALL." 
Jan.  16,  1806. 

169 


Hearths  and  Homes 

January  30,  1806  :  - 

"  Voted  that  the  Parish  committee  be  a  committee 
to  appear  at  the  adjournment  of  the  Town  Meeting 
and  forbid  the  Town  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  the 
First  Parish,  of  ever  holding  any  Town  Meeting  in 
said  Parish  meeting-house  in  future  unless  by  the 
consent  of  the  said  Parish. 

"  Voted  that  the  Clerk  serve  the  Town  with  a  copy 
of  the  above  vote." 

FROM  THE  TOWN  RECORDS. 

"The  undersigned,  a  committee  chosen  by  the 
Town  to  treat  with  a  committee  from  the  First 
Parish  in  Lynn  in  order  to  effect  a  settlement  of  a 
dispute  that  has  arisen  relative  to  the  right  claimed 
by  the  Town  to  transact  their  public  business  in  the 
old  meeting-house  so  called,  report  that  they  have  the 
mortification  to  learn  that  the  Parish  has  declined 
to  unite  with  the  Town  in  this  pacific  measure.  But 
although  the  conduct  of  the  Parish  in  this  respect 
may  appear  to  close  the  door  against  all  further 
attempts  of  the  Town  towards  a  compromise,  never- 
theless, when  we  recollect  that  some  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  our  last  meeting  however  well  intended  or 
proper  in  themselves,  give  umbrage  to  many  of  our 
brethren  of  the  parish  as  being  in  their  opinion  cal- 
culated to  prevent  a  reconciliation,  and  although  we 
are  compelled  in  justice  to  the  Town  to  declare  that 
we  view  the  measures  as  respects  their  appointment 
of  a  committee  as  sufficient  evidence  of  the  Town's 
accommodating  disposition,  and  that  the  omission  of 
the  Town  through  mistake  to  invest  them  with  power 
to  treat,  etc.,  does  not  in  the  least  weaken  or  impair 
that  evidence,  nevertheless,  we,  the  Town,  in  the 
spirit  of  charity  and  candor  will  give  the  complaints 
of  the  Parish  before  hinted  all  that  weight  they  may 

170 


of  Old  Lynn 

desire,  that  we  take  leave  further  to  recommend  that 
in  order  to  evidence  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  Town 
are  still  desirous  to  promote  concord  and  harmony 
between  them  and  their  brethren  of  the  Parish,  and 
to  avoid  the  manifold  evils  of  a  contest  in  law,  where 
the  interest  of  the  parties  are  so  connected  and 
blended  that  however  decided  in  law  will,  in  addition 
to  an  enormous  expense,  be  attended  with  far  more 
pernicious  consequences,  when  fellow  citizens  of  the 
same  town,  the  same  neighborhood,  family  connec- 
tions, near  relatives,  etc.,  will  be  enclosed  in  an  un- 
happy quarrel  which  in  the  nature  of  things  will  give 
strength  to  those  discordant  passions  which  are  the 
baneful  source  of  human  misery. 

"  As  a  means  to  avoid  these  accumulated  evils  and 
to  establish  tranquility  among  all  classes  of  our  fel- 
low townsmen,  your  committee  respectfully  submit 
for  your  consideration,  whether  it  would  not  be  best 
for  the  Town  by  Resolve  by  vote,  that  we  are  still 
ready  to  listen  to  any  proposals  from  the  Parish  that 
may  tend  towards  an  amicable  settlement  of  this 
unhappy  dispute. 

JOSEPH  FULLER. 
HENRY  BURCHSTEAD. 
NATHAN  HAWKES. 
RICH'D  SHUTE. 
TIMOTHY  MUNROE. 
MICA'H  NEWHALL. 

Committee. ' ' 
LYNN,  Feb.  9,  1806. 

The  warrant  for  Town  Meeting,  dated  March  7, 
1806,  contained  this  article  :  - 

"Also  to  determine  what  further  measures  are  neces- 
sary for  the  Town  to  adopt  to  support  and  establish 
a  privilege  of  meeting  in  the  old  meeting-house, 
which  they  and  their  fathers  have  ever  heretofore 

171 


Hearths  and  Homes 

enjoyed  and  to  determine  where  the  next  meeting 
shall  be  called." 

Town  Meeting,  March  17,  1806  :  - 

"Voted  to  refer  the  determination  of  the  matter 
of  right  of  meeting  in  the  old  meeting-house  to  the 
adjournment  of  this  meeting,  and  the  Town  are 
ready  to  meet  the  Parish  by  their  committee  to 
compromise  the  business." 

Under  same  date  the  next  action  was  :  - 

"  Voted  the  Selectmen  apply  to  the  Methodist  So- 
ciety for  their  house  to  hold  the  April  meeting  in. 

"  Voted  to  adjourn  this  meeting  to  the  place  where 
the  April  meeting  shall  be  held." 

The  warrant  for  the  Annual  Meeting  for  the  choice 
of  State  Officers  for  1806  began  as  follows :  - 

"The  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Lynn  qualified  as  the  law  requires,  are 
hereby  notified  to  attend  a  Town  Meeting  to  be 
holden  at  the  Methodist  meeting-house  in  said  Town 
on  Monday  the  7th  day  of  April  next  at  1  o'clock  P.M. 

HENRY  HALLOWELL. 
HENRY  OLIVER, 
dated  NATHAN  HAWKES. 

LYNN,  March  28,  1806.  Selectmen. ' ' 

Lynn,  April  7,  1806  :  - 

"Town  met  agreeable  to  notification.  At  this 
meeting  it  was  voted  to  choose  a  committee  for  the 
purpose  of  filling  up  the  blanks  for  a  compromise 
with  the  old  Parish,  relative  to  the  Town's  using  the 
old  meeting-house,  and  to  report  at  May  meeting. 

172 


of  Old  Lynn 

"Voted,  Zachariah  Attwill,  Samuel  Collins,  Abner 
Cheever  and  Thomas  Mansfield  be  said  committee. 

"Voted  the  Selectmen  provide  a  house  for  May 
meeting  at  the  Town's  expense." 

May  1,  1806  :  - 

"  The  Selectmen  issue  the  warrant  for  Town  Meet- 
ing for  choice  of  representatives  to  General  Court  to 
be  held  in  the  old  meeting-house,  May  12,  1806." 

This  report  was  made  at  the  meeting  :  - 

"  As  it  appears  to  be  the  wish  of  both  Town  and 
Parish  to  have  the  unhappy  dispute  between  the 
Town  and  First  Parish  respecting  the  old  meeting- 
house amicably  adjusted  the  following  is  submitted 
to  the  Town  for  their  consideration ;  it  is  thought  it 
will  meet  the  views  of  both  parties. 

"  The  Town  cannot  comply  with  the  proposition  of 
the  Parish  as  offered  to  the  Town's  committee. 

"  But  the  Town  are  willing  to  relinquish  all  their 
right  in  the  said  house  on  the  following  considera- 
tions viz. : 

"1.  The  Town  shall  have  leave  to  transact  all 
municipal  business  in  the  said  house  as  usual. 

"  2.  The  Town  shall  sweep  said  house  and  if  neces- 
sary wash  it  as  soon  as  may  be  after  each  meeting. 

"  3.  The  Town  shall  make  good  all  damages  which 
the  house  shall  sustain  by  such  meeting  as  soon  as 
may  be  after  each  meeting,  and  in  case  of  any  dis- 
pute the  Town  shall  choose  one  man  and  the  Parish 
one,  who  shall  be  arbitrators  to  fix  sd  damage. 

"4.  The  Town  shall  pay  the  Parish  Treasurer 
annually  the  sum  of  dollars  as  the  Town's 

proportion  of  the  general  repairs  in  and  on  the  house. 

"5.  This  stipulation  shall  continue  in  force  for 
the  term  of  years. 

173 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"  The  committee  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  Town 
at  their  meeting  on  the  7th  of  April,  have  met  with 
the  committee  on  the  part  of  the  First  Parish  and 
have  agreed  to  fill  up  the  blanks  left  within  the 
proposals  as  follows,  viz. :  the  blank  for  compensation 
to  be  filled  with  twenty-eight  dollars  per  annum  and 
the  blank  for  the  number  of  years  filled  at  twenty 
years. 

"And  the  same  is  submitted  to  the  Town  and 
Parish. 
LYNN,  April  28,  1806. 

ZAC'H  ATTWILL.  FRED'K  BREED. 

SAM'L  COLLINS.  THOMAS  RHODES. 

ABNER  CHEEVER.  WILL'M  MANSFIELD. 

THOMAS  MANSFIELD.  EPH'M  BREED. 

on  the  part  of  the  Town.  on  the  part  of  the  Parish." 

"  Voted  by  the  Town  on  the  12  of  this  instant  May 
to  reject  the  above  report." 

The  next  warrant  for  Town  Meeting  was  issued 
January  10,  1807,  and  the  place  of  meeting  was  the 
Methodist  Meeting-house. 

At  the  April  meeting,  1807,  there  was  allowed  : 

"  For  the  use  and  repairs  of  the  Methodist  meeting- 
house $42.25. 

"N.B.  The  above  sum  included  nineteen  dollars 
paid  to  Col.  Breed  and  Harris  Chadwell  for  the  use 
and  repairs  of  the  old  meeting-house." 

In  1806,  as  well  as  in  1721,  the  irritating  element 
which  caused  the  First  Parish  to  close  its  doors  upon 
the  Town  may  be  traced  to  ecclesiastic  origin. 

The  Quakers  and  the  several  parishes  could  legis- 
late in  peace  with  the  Parish  in  the  old  house. 

174 


of  Old  Lynn 

A  more  aggressive  sect  had  come  to  Town  and 
pitched  its  tent  within  sight  of  the  Old  Tunnel. 

Benjamin  Johnson,  a  prominent  man  —  a  leader  in 
the  development  of  the  shoe  business  and  a  member 
of  the  First  Church  —  had  heard  and  been  impressed 
with  Methodist  preaching  in  the  South. 

Mr.  Johnson  invited  Jesse  Lee,  the  eloquent  Meth- 
odist preacher,  to  come  here.  Lee  arrived  on  the 
fourteenth  of  December,  1790.  Since  that  day  Meth- 
odism has  been  a  particularly  active  and  vital  power 
in  Lynn.  Mr.  Lee  set  up  his  church  —  militant  —  in 
the  houses  of  Mr.  Johnson  and  of  Mr.  Enoch  Mudge, 
the  one  at  the  north  end  of  Market  Street,  the  other 
at  the  corner  of  South  Common  and  Vine  Streets. 
One  was  east  and  the  other  was  west  of  the  old 
meeting-house,  so  that  he  flanked  the  Parish.  Some- 
times he  was  permitted  to  occupy  the  meeting-house 
for  evening  meetings,  and  when  this  was  refused, 
the  Methodists,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  June,  1791, 
began  to  build  the  first  meeting-house  of  their  society 
just  in  front  of  what  is  now  Lee  Hall.  In  twelve 
days  from  the  time  the  timber  was  cut,  we  are  told, 
the  house  was  ready  for  occupancy.  It  was  a  plain, 
unfinished  building,  34  by  44  feet.  It  suited  the 
plain,  earnest  Methodists  of  those  days.  It  stood  out 
in  full  view  of  the  First  Parish  Meeting-house,  and 
a  few  years  later  it  became  a  convenient  shelter  for 
Town  Meetings,  when  the  First  Parish  ejected  the 
Town  from  the  Old  Tunnel.  Thereafter,  with  occa- 
sional meetings  at  the  hall  of  Paul  and  Ellis  Newhall, 
at  the  corner  of  Market  and  Essex  Streets,  it  was 

175 


Hearths  and  Homes 

occupied  by  the  grace  of  the  Methodist  Society  for 
Town  purposes,  till  the  erection  of  the  Town  House 
on  the  Common  in  1814. 

There  are  two  sides  to  every  shield. 

The  freemen  of  the  Town  claimed  that  they  and 
their  fathers  had  always  used  the  meeting-house, 
that  a  tax  upon  the  whole  property  had  erected  the 
building  and  had  maintained  it,  and  that  consequently 
they  and  their  successors  had  a  prescriptive  right 
to  enjoy  the  same  privileges.  At  the  time  of  the 
controversy  the  First  Parish  was  in  a  dire  plight. 
Its  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Gushing  Thacher,  lacked  the 
power  of  his  predecessors ;  he  had  not  the  gifts  of 
solidity  and  earnestness,  his  intellectual  parts  were 
not  equal  to  that  of  the  family  to  which  he  belonged. 
The  functions  of  his  sacred  office  were  not  appre- 
ciated by  him,  and  secular  affairs  engrossed  his  mind. 
Mr.  Thacher's  ministry  extended  from  1794  to  1813. 

His  immediate  predecessor,  Rev.  Obediah  Parsons, 
had  faults  even  more  inconsistent  with  his  profession 
than  those  of  Mr.  Thacher. 

With  such  guides  it  is  not  strange  that  Jesse  Lee's 
intense  earnestness  and  his  fiery  preaching  made  the 
new  sect  popular.  A  large  portion  of  the  First 
Parish  went  over  to  the  Methodists.  Even  the  dea- 
cons of  the  Parish,  William  Farrington  and  The- 
ophilus  Hallowell,  joined  the  new  movement  and 
carried  away  the  communion  plate  of  the  Parish, 
probably  under  the  impression  that  where  the  deacons 
were  there  was  the  Church.  Over  the  carrying  away 
of  the  communion  service  a  long  contention  was  had, 

176 


of  Old  Lynn 

which  resulted  in  its  return ;  with  it  Deacon  Farring- 
ton  came  back.  But  seeds  of  bitterness  remained. 
The  positive,  pushing  men  of  the  community  were 
in  the  new  Church. 

According  to  the  opinion  of  those  who  remained 
in  the  Parish,  they  had  abandoned  the  faith  taught 
by  the  founders,  and  in  forming  an  alien  Church 
they  had  forfeited  their  rights  in  the  old  meeting- 
house. 

To  the  Parish  it  seemed  unfair  that  men  who 
worshiped  elsewhere  should  seek  to  retain  a  secular 
control  over  the  meeting-house.  Hence  the  denial 
of  its  use  by  the  Parish  —  the  appointment  of  a  joint 
committee  —  the  compromise  agreed  to  by  the  com- 
mittee recognizing  the  right  of  the  Parish  to  receive 
compensation  for  its  use  and  the  refusal  of  the  Town 
to  accept  the  compromise. 

The  Parish  was  weak  in  numbers,  but  by  the  vote 
of  its  enemies  its  contention  was  maintained  that 
secular  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  use  of  its  property 
was  in  the  Parish,  and  that  the  title  to  the  Old 
Tunnel  was  in  those  who  maintained  the  faith  of  the 
fathers  in  years  of  disaster  as  well  as  of  prosperity. 


177 


COLONIAL  LAND   TITLES.1 


iHOEVER  is  interested  in  the  soil  of  the  locali- 
ty in  which  his  lot  in  life  has  placed  him  may 
be  interested  to  know  how  title  in  it  was 
acquired  and  maintained  by  his  ancestors. 

When  the  colonizing  Englishman  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  this  land  that  we  now  possess,  there  were  two 
parties  who  had  some  sort  of  title  to  the  soil.  Rem- 
nants of  the  North  American  Indians  partially  occu- 
pied the  land,  more  as  hunters  and  fishers  than  as 
tillers  of  the  soil,  in  a  loose  tribal  authority.  This 
prior  claim  by  quasi-occupation  our  fathers  pushed 
aside  till  they  were  menaced,  in  later  years,  by  the 
feudal  pretentions  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros  and  his 
followers  when  they  reinforced  their  Colonial  Court 
titles  by  releases  from  such  scattered  Indians  as  they 
could  find  and  bribe. 

The  other  claimant  was  that  "wisest  fool  in 
Christendom,"  the  Scot  James,  the  first  King  of 
England  of  that  name  who  claimed  by  right  of  the 
discovery  —  by  brighter  men  than  himself  —  all  the 
Continent  of  North  America. 

This  King,  on  the  third  of  November,  1620,  made 
a  grant  to  the  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  in  the 

1  Lynn  Historical  Society,  May  4,  1897. 

179 


Hearths  and  Homes 

County  of  Devon,  for  the  planting,  ruling,  ordering 
and  governing  of  New  England  in  America,  of  all 
that  part  of  America  "  lying  and  being  in  bredth  from 
forty  degrees  to  forty-eight  degrees  of  north  latitude 
and  in  length  of  and  within  all  the  bredth  aforesaid 
through  the  mainland  from  sea  to  sea." 

This  was  a  broad  belt  of  territory  and  covered  not 
only  the  whole  of  New  England  and  New  York,  but 
also  Canada  and  the  Maritime  Provinces  of  Great 
Britain.  The  consideration  for  this  great  grant  was 
the  payment  to  the  King  and  his  heirs  and  successors 
of  one-fifth  part  of  all  the  gold  and  silver  ores  found 
in  the  territory.  The  consideration  exacted  by  the 
covetous  Scot  failed,  for  gold  and  silver  ores  have  not 
yet  materialized  in  our  rock-ribbed  soil. 

Something  of  more  importance  than  gold  or  silver 
came  out  of  the  Plymouth  Council.  This  was  the 
sale  by  the  Council  March  19,  1627-8,  to  Sir  Henry 
Rosewell,  Sir  John  Young,  Thomas  Southcott,  John 
Humphrey,  John  Endicott  and  Symon  Whetcombe, 
their  heirs  and  associates  forever,  of  a  tract  of  land 
which  was  described  as  being  three  miles  north 
of  any  and  every  part  of  the  Merrimac  River, 
and  three  miles  south  of  any  or  every  part  of  the 
Charles  River  and  extending  westward  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  1628-9,  in  the  fourth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  "  The  Charter  of  the 
Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England  " 
passed  the  seals.  This  instrument  the  political  guide 
of  our  fathers  recites  :  - 

180 


of  Old  Lynn 

"And  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  we  will  and 
ordain  that  the  said  Sir  Henry  Rosewell,  Sir  John 
Yong,  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  Thomas  Southcott, 
John  Humfrey,  John  Endicott,  Symon  Whetcombe, 
Isaack  Johnson,  Samuell  Aldersey,  John  Ven,  Mathewe 
Cradock,  George  Harwood,  Increase  Noell,  Richard 
Pery,  Richard  Bellingham,  Nathaniell  Wright,  Samuell 
Vassall,  Theophilus  Eaton,  Thomas  Goffe,  Thomas 
Adams,  John  Browne,  Samuell  Browne,  Thomas 
Hutchins,  William  Vassall,  William  Pinchion,  and 
George  Foxcroft,  and  all  such  others  as  shall  here- 
after be  admitted  and  made  free  of  the  Company 
and  Society  hereafter  mentioned,  shall,  from  time  to 
time,  and  at  all  times  forever  hereafter  be,  by  virtue  of 
these  presents,  one  body  corporate  and  politic  in  fact 
and  name,  by  the  name  of  the  Governor  and  Company 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England :  And  them 
by  the  name  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  one  body  politic 
and  corporate  in  deed,  fact,  and  name  :  we  do  for  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors,  make,  ordain,  constitute, 
and  confirm  by  these  presents,  and  that  by  that  name 
they  shall  have  perpetual  succession :  And  that  by 
the  same  name  they  and  their  successors  shall,  and 
may  be  capable  and  enabled,  as  well  to  implead  and  to 
be  impleaded,  and  to  prosecute,  demand  and  answer, 
and  be  answered  unto,  in  all  and  singular  suits, 
causes,  quarrels,  and  actions  of  what  kind  or  nature 
soever.  And  also  to  have,  take,  possess,  acquire,  and 
purchase  any  lands,  tenements,  or  hereditaments,  or 
any  goods  or  chattels,  And  the  same  to  lease,  grant, 
demise,  alien,  bargain,  sell  and  dispose  of  as  other 
leige  people  of  this  our  realm  of  England,  or  any 
other  corporation  or  body  politic  of  the  same  may 
lawfully  do :  And,  further,  that  the  said  Governor 
and  Company  and  their  successors  may  have  forever 

181 


Hearths  and  Homes 

one  common  seal  to  be  used  in  all  causes  and  occasions 
of  the  said  Company  and  the  same  seal  may  alter, 
change,  break,  and  new  make,  from  time  to  time,  at 
their  pleasures.  And  our  will  and  pleasure  is.  And 
we  do  hereby  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ordain 
and  grant,  That,  from  henceforth  forever,  there  shall 
be  one  Governor,  one  Deputy  Governor,  and  eighteen 
assistants  of  the  same  Company,  to  be  from  time  to 
time  constituted,  elected  and  chosen  out  of  the  free- 
men of  the  said  Company,  for  the  time  being,  in  such 
manner  and  form  as  hereafter  in  these  presents  is 
expressed.  Which  said  officers  shall  apply  themselves 
to  take  care  for  the  best  disposing  and  ordering  of 
the  general  business  and  affairs  of,  for  and  concerning 
the  said  lands  and  premises  hereby  mentioned  to  be 
granted,  and  the  plantation  thereof,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  people  there." 

The  King,  when  this  charter  was  granted,  was  too 
busy  with  the  gathering  storm  at  home,  out  of  which 
was  to  be  evolved  his  own  death  on  the  scaffold,  and 
the  illustrious  rule  of  Cromwell  and  the  short-lived 
Commonwealth  of  England,  —  to  see  the  far-reaching 
consequences  of  this  act. 

He  retained  no  jurisdiction,  as  his  advisers  saw  in 
the  matter  only  the  incorporation  of  a  trading  estab- 
lishment, rather  than  what  it  was  destined  to  be,  - 
the  planting  of  a  greater  England,  —  an  enduring 
Commonwealth  in  the  new  world. 

In  the  autumn  of  1629,  after  protracted  and 
prayerful  consideration  of  the  legality  of  the  scheme, 
the  Company  voted  to  transfer  its  patent  and  govern- 
ment from  London  to  New  England.  Having  taken 
the  momentous  world-influencing  step  of  removing 


of  Old  Lynn 

the  charter  and  government  across  the  trackless 
seas,  it  became  necessary  to  choose  a  new  Gov- 
ernor, as  Matthew  Craddock  was  not  to  join  the 
emigrants. 

The  election  of  the  new  Governor  is  related  in 
simple  but  impressive  language  in  the  "  Records  of 
the  General  Court  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,"  under  date 
of  October  20,  1629  :  - 

"  And  now  the  Court,  proceeding  to  the  election  of 
a  new  Governor,  Deputy,  and  Assistants,  which,  upon 
serious  deliberation,  hath  been  and  is  conceived  to  be 
for  the  especial  good  &  advancement  of  their  affairs, 
and  having  received  extraordinary  great  commenda- 
tions of  Mr.  John  Winthrop,  both  for  his  integrity 
and  sufficiency  as  being  one  very  well  fitted  and 
accomplished  for  the  place  of  Governor,  did  put  in 
nomination  for  that  place  the  said  Mr.  John  Winthrop, 
Sr.,  R:  Saltonstall,  Mr.  Is.  Johnson,  and  Mr.  John 
Humf  ry ;  and  the  said  Mr.  Winthrop  was,  with  a 
general  vote  and  full  consent  of  this  Court,  by  erec- 
tion of  hands,  chosen  to  be  Governor  for  the  ensuing 
year,  to  begin  on  this  present  day  ;  who  was  pleased 
to  accept  thereof,  and  thereupon  took  the  oath  to  that 
place  appertaine.  In  like  manner  &  with  like  free 
and  full  consent,  Mr.  John  Humf  ry  was  chosen  Deputy 
Governor." 

The  last  Court  of  the  Governor  and  Company  on 
the  other  side  was  held  in  the  cabin  of  the  "Arbella," 
the  famed  vessel  which  was  to  bear  Winthrop  to  his 
life  of  high  achievement,  while  at  anchor  before  the 
departure.  The  brief  record  explains  the  occasion  :  - 

183 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"At  a  Court  of  Assistants  aboard  the  "Arbella" 
March  23,  1629.  Present,  Mr.  John  Winthrop,  Gover- 
nor, Sir  Rich.  Saltonstall,  Mr.  Isaack  Johnson,  Mr. 
Thomas  Dudley,  Mr.  William  Coddington,  Mr.  Tho: 
Sharpe,  Mr.  William  Vassall,  Mr.  Simon  Bradstreete. 
Mr.  John  Humfrey  (in  regard  he  was  to  stay  behind 
in  England)  was  discharged  of  his  Deputyshipp,  & 
Mr.  Thomas  Dudley  chosen  Deputy  in  his  place." 

Mr.  John  Humfrey,  the  Deputy,  one  of  the  pa- 
tentees, had  his  grant  in  Lynn,  and  lived  here  for 
some  time.  Humphrey's  Pond,  in  Lynnfield,  and 
Humphrey  Street,  in  Swampscott,  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  John  Humphrey  and  of  his  wife,  Lady 
Susan,  the  daughter  of  the  Puritan  nobleman,  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  May,  1631,  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment having  been  firmly  fixed  at  Boston,  it  was 
determined  that  a  General  Court  should  be  held  at 
least  once  a  year  at  which  all  the  freemen  were  to 
assemble  and  choose  the  Assistants.  Prior  to  this 
all  the  functions  of  government  had  been  in  the 
hands  of  the  select  and  always  influential  "  Court  of 
Assistants." 

Critics  of  the  Puritans  have  attributed  the  re- 
striction of  the  privileges  of  freemen  to  church  mem- 
bers as  religious  bigotry.  There  was,  however,  even 
in  those  days  an  imperative  necessity  for  the  restric- 
tion of  suffrage.  Large  numbers  of  unknown  people 
were  flocking  to  the  new  country.  Our  fathers  saw 
perils  threatening  their  projected  institutions  from  the 
votes  of  new  comers  of  loose  life  and  conversation. 

184 


of  Old  Lynn 

Church  members  were  presumably  persons  attached 
to  the  existing  order  of  correct  and  moral  habits. 
Hence  for  the  well-being  of  the  whole  community  the 
authorities  made  membership  in  the  church  a  pre- 
requisite to  the  freeman's  oath.  The  colony  was  to 
be  a  democracy  but  it  was  to  be  a  democracy  of  the 
best  elements  and  not  of  the  worst. 

On  the  ninth  of  May,  1632,  a  democratic  advance 
was  had,  as  appears  by  the  General  Court  records  of 
that  day.  "  It  was  generally  agreed  upon,  by  erection 
of  hands,  that  the  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  & 
Assistants  should  be  chosen  by  the  whole  Court  of 
Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  Assistants,  and  freemen, 
and  that  the  Governor  shall  always  be  chosen  out  of 
the  Assistants." 

The  first  time  that  our  Plantation  is  named  in  the 
Colony  Records  is,  as  is  apt  to  be  the  case  in  mundane 
affairs,  in  a  tax  rate  of  A  Court  of  Assistants  holden 
at  Boston,  July  5,  1631  :  - 

"It  is  ordered,  there  shall  be  levyed  out  of  the 
several  plantations  the  sum  of  thirty  pounds  for  the 
making  of  the  creek  at  the  new  town  (Cambridge) 
viz :  Winisemet  (Chelsea)  15  s.  Wessaguscus  (Wey- 
mouth)  40  s.;  Saugus 20  s.;  Natascett  (Nantasket)  10 s: 
Waterton  (Watertown)  V  L.  Boston  V  L.  Dorchester 
4  L  10  s:  Rocksbury  (Roxbury)  3  L:  Salem  3L.  5  s." 

The  freemen  of  our  plantation  helped  make  the 
levy,  and  the  capacity  to  be  taxed  and  to  pay  the  tax 
was  an  ample  act  of  incorporation,  and  the  only  one 
the  early  towns  had. 

185 


Hearths  and  Homes 

May  9,  1632,  the  autocratic  Court  of  Assistants 
passed  a  vote  which,  as  a  seed  dropped  in  fertile  soil, 
grew  into  that  wondrous  American  product  Repre- 
sentative Government :  - 

"  It  was  ordered  that  there  should  be  two  of  every 
plantation  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Court  about 
raising  of  a  public  stock." 

Capt.  Richard  Wright  and  another,  whose  name 
cannot  be  deciphered  on  the  Colonial  Records,  \vere 
appointed  from  Saugus.  Two  years  later  the  people 
were  ready  to  assume  other  functions  of  government 
than  merely  advising  as  to  taxing  themselves. 

At  an  Assistants'  Court,  held  April  1,  1634,  was 
passed  the  last  vote  wherein  that  body  took  action  in 
regard  to  assurance   of   lands.     Up  to  this  time  all 
grants  of  land  —  and  they  were  many  and  large  - 
had  been  made  by  the  Court  of  Assistants  :  - 

"  It  was  further  ordered  that  the  constable  and  four 
or  more  of  the  chief  inhabitants  of  every  town  (to 
be  chosen  by  all  the  freemen  there,  at  some  meeting 
there)  with  the  advice  of  some  one  or  more  of  the 
next  assistants,  shall  make  a  '  surveying  of  the  houses 
backeside,  corne  fieldes,  moweing  ground  &  other 
lands,'  improved  or  inclosed,  or  granted  by  special 
order  of  the  Court,  of  every  free  inhabitant  there, 
and  shall  enter  the  same  in  a  book  (fairly  written 
in  words  at  length  and  not  in  figures)  with  the 
several  bounds  and  quantities,  by  the  nearest  estima- 
tion, and  shall  deliver  a  transcript  thereof  into  the 
Court,  within  six  months  now  next  ensuing,  and  the 
same  so  entered  and  recorded  shall  be  a  sufficient 

186 


of  Old  Lynn 

assurance  to  every  such  free  inhabitant,  his  and  their 
heirs  and  assigns,  of  such  estate  of  inheritance  or  as 
they  shall  have  in  any  such  houses,  lands  or  frank 
tenements. 

"  The  like  course  shall  be  taken  for  assurance  of  all 
houses  and  town  lots  of  all  such  as  shall  be  hereafter 
enfranchised,  and  every  sale  or  grant  of  such  houses 
or  lots  as  shall  be  from  time  to  time  entered  into  the 
said  book  by  the  said  constable  and  four  inhabitants 
or  their  successors,  (who  shall  be  still  supplied  upon 
death  or  removal)  for  which  entry  the  purchaser  shall 
pay  six  pence,  and  the  like  sum  for  a  copy  thereof, 
under  the  hands  of  the  said  surveyors,  or  three  of 
them." 

This  vote  was  the  germ  from  which  has  been 
evolved  our  cumbrous  system  of  Registry  of  Deeds. 

The  increased  number  of  freemen,  added  to  the 
cost  of  time  lost  in  a  journey  to  and  from  Boston,  the 
danger  of  having  the  whole  number  of  adult  males 
absent  from  the  scattered  plantations,  induced  the 
creation  of  a  representative  body. 

The  General  Court  which  assembled  on  the  four- 
teenth of  May,  1634,  consisted  of  the  Governor,  Deputy 
Governor,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  the  Assistants,  with 
three  representatives  from  each  of  eight  towns. 
Lynn,  then  called  Saugus,  sent  as  its  members  three 
noted  citizens,  Capt.  Nathaniel  Turner,  Edward  Tom- 
lins  and  Thomas  Willis.  The  eight  towns  represented 
were  Newtown  (Cambridge),  Watertown,  Charlestown, 
Boston,  Roxbury,  Dorchester,  Saugus  (Lynn)  and 
Salem.  Thus  quietly  was  ushered  into  being  The 
Great  and  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  which 

187 


Hearths  and  Homes 

annually  since  has  gathered  to  make  laws  wise  and 
unwise  for  us. 

This  first  General  Court  took  upon  itself  at  once 
large  powers.  It  agreed  that  "  none  but  the  General 
Court  hath  power  to  choose  and  admit  freemen." 
That  none  but  the  General  Court  hath  power  to  make 
and  establish  laws,  nor  to  elect  and  appoint  officers  - 
as  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  Assistants,  Treasurer, 
Secretary,  Captains,  Lieutenants,  Ensigns,  or  any  of 
like  moment,  or  to  remove  such  upon  misdemeanor, 
as  also  to  set  out  the  duties  and  powers  of  the  said 
officers.  And  lastly  the  matter  which  bears  directly 
upon  the  subject  —  "  That  none  but  the  General  Court 
hath  power  to  raise  moneys  and  Taxes  and  to  dispose 
of  lands  viz.  to  give  and  confirm  property  es." 

Grants  of  lands,  from  which  grew  many  of  the 
early  New  England  towns,  were  made  to  a  number  of 
individuals,  who  became  a  sort  of  corporation  and 
were  called  Commoners.  They  had  a  Moderator, 
Clerk,  record  book  and  committee.  These  proprieta- 
ries parceled  out  and  conveyed  the  territory  to  in- 
dividuals. Other  lands  they  retained  in  common. 
In  modern  times  suits  have  grown  out  of  contention 
between  individuals,  towns,  and  the  inheritors  of 
these  ancient  commoners. 

All  Lynn  conveyances  seem  to  be  based  upon  a 
different  method.  From  the  beginning  here  the 
Court  recognized  the  inhabitants,  that  is,  the  Planta- 
tion, as  the  grantees. 

The  list  of  the  grants  of  land  transcribed  from  the 
Records  of  Lynn  by  the  worthy  Andrew  Mansfield, 

188 


of  Old  Lynn 

Town  Recorder,  is  prefaced  with  these  words :  "  These 
lands  were  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town  of 
Lynn,  Anno  Domini  1638." 

This  record  was  a  confirmation  of  title  by  the 
Town  to  settlers,  most  of  whom  were  already  located 
on  the  lands  preempted,  as  the  modern  American 
would  say. 

The  Court  recognized  the  Plantation  as  de  facto 
organized,  and  in  1638  the  Town  entered  upon  its 
book  a  list  of  its  grants. 

In  the  allotment  of  land  wide  difference  may  be 
seen  in  the  grants,  ranging,  in  the  case  of  Lynn, 
from  eight  hundred  acres  to  Lord  Brook,  down  to 
ten  acres.  This  was  done,  however,  upon  an  equi- 
table plan  arranged  in  England  before  Winthrop 
sailed  with  the  Charter.  Each  adventurer,  or,  as 
we  now  should  say,  stockholder,  had  two  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  each  fifty  pounds  adventured,  and 
after  that  rate  for  more  or  less.  At  the  same  meet- 
ing, May  19,  1629,  it  was  ordered  :  - 

"That  all  such  persons  as  go  over  at  their  own 
charge  and  are  adventurers  in  the  common  stock, 
shall  have  lands  allotted  to  them  for  themselves  and 
their  families  forthwith,  50  acres  of  land  for  each 
person ;  but  being  no  adventurers  in  the  common 
stock  shall  have  50  acres  of  land  for  the  master  of 
the  family,  and  such  a  proportion  of  land  more  if 
there  be  cause  as  according  to  their  charge  &  qualitie 
the  Governor  and  Council  of  New  England  shall 
think  necessary  for  them,  whereby  their  charge  may 
be  fully  and  amply  supported ;  unless  it  be  to  any 
with  whom  the  company  in  London  shall  make  any 

189 


Hearths  and  Homes 

particular  agreement,  to  which  relation  is  to  be  had 
in  such  case. 

"  And  for  such  as  transport  servants,  land  shall  be 
allotted  for  each  servant,  50  acres  to  the  master ; 
which  land  the  master  is  to  dispose  of  at  his  discre- 
tion. In  regard  the  servants  transportation,  wages 
&  sc  is  at  the  master's  charge." 

The  smaller  lots  of  land  were  given  to  the  different 
handicraftsmen,  such  as  carpenters,  thatchers,  weav- 
ers, millers,  miners,  and  masons,  who  were  solicited 
to  join  the  great  exodus. 

These  men  furnished  brawn  instead  of  cash  and 
were  provided  with  home  lots,  while  the  larger  areas 
were  given  to  the  yeomen  who  were  to  try  the  ex- 
periment of  raising  English  grains  in  Indian  land. 

Our  fathers  were  a  land-hungry  people.  They 
came  from  a  country  where  land  was  costly,  entailed 
and  difficult  to  transfer  title.  Here  was  abundance 
of  land,  cheap,  and  to  be  had  in  fee  for  the  asking. 

The  General  Court  paid  for  services  of  all  kinds  in 
land.  In  Lynn  the  people  had  scarcely  occupied  the 
oceanside  at  Sagamore  and  Wolf  Hills  and  Swamp- 
scott  and  the  water  ways  of  Saugus  River  and  Straw- 
berry Brook  when  they  prospected  the  interior.  As 
a  first  result  the  General  Court  records,  March  13, 
1638-9,  relate :  - 

"Linn  was  granted  6  miles  into  the  countrey  & 
Mr.  Hawthorne  &  Lieut.  Davenport  to  view  and  in- 
form how  the  land  beyond  lyeth,  —  whether  it  may 
be  fit  for  another  plantation  or  no." 

190 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  new  grant  became  Lynn  End  or  Lynnfield, 
later,  our  Second  Parish,  and  then  an  independent 
town.  More  land  still  was  craved  by  the  farmers  for 
their  flocks  and  herds.  Hence  on  the  ninth  of  Sep- 
tember, 1639,  the  General  Court  granted  more  terri- 
tory to  Lynn  in  the  following  language  :  - 

"The  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Lynn,  for  a 
place  for  an  inland  plantation  at  the  head  of  their 
bounds  is  granted  them  4  miles  square,  as  the  place 
will  afford  :  upon  condition  that  the  petitioner  shall, 
within  two  years,  make  some  good  proceeding  in 
planting,  so  as  it  may  be  a  village,  fit  to  contain  a 
convenient  number  of  inhabitants,  which  may  in  dew 
time  have  a  church  there ;  and  so  as  such  as  shall 
remove  to  inhabit  there,  shall  not  with  all  keepe  their 
accomodations  in  Linn  above  2  years  after  their  re- 
moval to  the  said  village,  upon  pain  to  forfeit  their 
interest  in  one  of  them  at  their  election  :  except  this 
court  shall  see  fit  cause  to  dispence  further  with 
them." 

This  "  inland  plantation,"  however,  was  not  intended 
for  a  permanent  addition  to  Lynn.  It  would  have 
made  too  large  a  town  for  convenience  of  worship. 
It  was,  as  the  language  of  the  grant  shows,  intended 
for  such  Lynn  planters  as  should  desire  broader 
acres.  They  were  to  be  under  the  care  of  Lynn  till 
they  had  gathered  a  church. 

This  last  named  grant  was  known  as  Lynn  Village, 
and  its  church  being  organized,  Lynn's  parental  au- 
thority was  ended  by  the  incorporation,  May  29, 1644, 
of  Lynn  Village  as  the  Town  of  Reading.  So  ended 
our  control  of  the  fair  town  by  "  the  great  pond  "  at 

191 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  head  of  Saugus  River,  though  forty-two  years 
later  the  two  towns  were  united  as  grantees  in  a 
noted  blanket  release  from  David  Kunkshamooshaw 
and  Abagail,  his  squaw,  and  other  Indians  reputed  to 
be  heirs-at-law  of  old  Sagamore  George  No-Nose, 
alias  Wenepawweekin. 

Mr.  Lewis  has  copied  from  the  Massachusetts  Ar- 
chives and  printed  in  his  History  the  principal  papers 
concerning  Randolph's  proceedings  relative  to  grab- 
bing our  sheep  pasture,  Nahant.  From  that  time 
our  common  lands  were  undisturbed  until  1706,  when 
the  Anglo  Saxon  passion  for  holding  land  in  severalty 
proved  too  strong  for  the  Mosaic  community  notions 
with  which  the  first  comers  had  been  steeped. 

In  the  latter  year  "  The  six  hundred  acres,"  Nahant 
and  the  Great  Lynn  Woods,  by  order  of  the  Town 
were  allotted  to  individual  owners.  But  that  is 
another  story  and  I  have  told  it  elsewhere. 

Upon  the  deposition  of  James  II  and  the  accession 
of  William  and  Mary,  the  agents  of  our  Colony  peti- 
tioned to  be  reincorporated  as  formerly.  A  new 
charter,  which  is  known  in  our  history  as  the  Prov- 
ince Charter,  was  granted  in  1691.  This  Charter 
recites  the  provisions  of  the  former  one  and  the  fact 
of  its  vacation  by  a  judgment  in  Chancery,  March  4, 
1684,  and  grants  and  ordains  :  - 

"That  all  and  every  such  lands,  tenements  and 
Hereditaments  and  all  other  estates  which  any  per- 
son or  persons  or  Bodyes  Politique  or  Corporate 
Townes,  Villages,  Colledges  or  Schooles  doe  hold  and 
enjoy  or  ought  to  hold  and  enjoy  within  the  bounds 

192 


of  Old  Lynn 

aforesaid  by  or  under  any  Grant  or  estate  duly  made 
or  granted  by  any  General  Court  formerly  held  or  by 
virtue  of  the  Letters  Patent  herein  before  recited  or 
by  any  other  lawful  right  or  title  whatsoever  shall  be 
by  such  person  and  persons  Bodyes  Politique  and 
Corporate  Townes,  Villages  and  Colledges  or  Schooles, 
their  respective  heirs,  successors  and  Assigns  forever 
hereafter  held  and  enjoyed  according  to  the  purport 
and  intent  of  such  respective  Grant." 

This  new  grant  was  subject  of  course  to  the  original 
reservation  of  one-fifth  part  of  the  gold  and  silver 
found.  There  was  also  an  added  assurance  :  - 

"It  being  our  further  Will  and  Pleasure  that  no 
Grants  or  Conveyances  of  any  Lands,  Tenements  or 
Hereditaments  to  any  Townes,  Colledges,  Schooles  of 
Learning  or  to  any  private  person  or  persons  shall 
be  judged  or  taken  to  be  avoided  or  prejudiced  for  or 
by  reason  of  any  want  or  defect  of  Form  but  that  the 
same  stand  and  remain  in  force  and  be  maintained  ad- 
judged and  have  effect  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
same  should  or  ought  before  the  time  of  the  said 
recited  Judgment  according  to  the  Laws  and  Rules 
then  and  there  usually  practiced  and  allowed." 

Under  this  charter  —  with  a  succession  of  Royal 
Governors  appointed  by  the  Crown  —  our  fathers  lived 
till  the  Revolution  having  pretty  much  their  own  way, 
though  not  quite  as  free  as  they  had  been  under  the 
Colonial  Charter. 

I  have  named  two  claims  to  the  soil  of  Massachu- 
setts and  of  Lynn  —  sometimes  conjoined  —  sometimes 
in  opposition  —  under  which  our  fathers  assumed  to 

193 


13 


Hearths  and  Homes 

hold.  Neither  of  them,  however,  was  the  vital  ele- 
ment, which  is  to  be  found  in  the  virile,  overmaster- 
ing will  of  the  great  colonizing  Puritan  English  race 
to  have  and  to  hold  a  new  home  by  the  strength  of 
its  own  keen  brains  and  hardy  muscles  under  the 
guidance  of  the  God  of  Moses. 


194 


^ 
' 


CASTLE  HILL  FROM  WALDEN  POND 


THE   CYCLE  DAYS  OF   NEW  ENGLAND.1 


§0  LOYAL  son  of  Lynn  can  refuse  to  respond 
upon  such  a  day  and  for  such  a  cause  as  this. 
There  are  many  reasons  why  it  is  agreeable 
to  me  that  my  mite  should  be  contributed  to  this 
school.  The  Principal  of  the  school  is  not  only  a 
descendant  of  Thomas  Newhall,  the  first  white  child 
born  in  Lynn,  but  also  of  John  Adam  Dagyr,  the 
"  celebrated  shoemaker  of  Essex,"  who  revolutionized 
the  staple  industry  of  Lynn.  She  was  reared  in  that 
part  of  the  old  Town  which  has  the  strongest  hold 
upon  my  affections. 

The  school  stands  upon  the  breezy  hill  which  was 
the  fairest  and  most  attractive  spot  in  the  whole 
Plantation  in  the  eyes  of  the  planters  of  Lynn.  Upon 
and  about  this  hill  five  of  the  leading  emigrants  from 
the  old  world  received  their  grants  of  land  ;  Thomas 
Willis,  for  whom  the  hill  was  originally  called,  received 
500  acres ;  Edward  Holyoke,  whose  name  is  perpetu- 
ated in  a  street  and  a  spring,  received  500  acres ; 

1  An  address  delivered  as  a  part  of  the  exercises  celebrating  the 
Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  City  of  Lynn,  in 
the  Burrill  Grammar  School,  Tower  Hill,  Lynn,  Monday  Morning, 
May  14,  1900. 

195 


Hearths  and  Homes 

George  Burrill  received  200  acres  ;  Nicholas  Brown 
received  200  acres  ;  Richard  Sadler,  the  first  Clerk  of 
the  Writs,  received  200  acres  and  the  rock  by  his 
house. 

The  old  Boston  road,  which  passes  the  school,  and 
is  not  so  steep  as  it  formerly  was,  is  the  historic  road 
of  Lynn.  Wherever  the  post-office  was,  used  to  be 
the  centre  of  the  Town ;  the  first  three  postmasters 
of  Lynn,  James  Robinson,  Ezra  Hitchings  and  Samuel 
Mulliken,  lived  upon  Boston  Street,  and  had  their 
offices  there. 

The  early  settlers  of  Lynn  came  out  of  the  fen 
country  of  England  —  a  region  reclaimed  from  the 
water,  and  formerly  dyked  even  as  Holland  is  to-day. 
They  were  tired  of  the  dull,  flat  expanse  upon  which 
they  were  reared.  Their  eyes  eagerly  scanned  the 
magnificent  prospect  of  sea  and  marsh  and  river 
and  woods  seen  from  this  gracefully  rounded  hilltop. 
Here  they  found  it  good  to  live,  and  when  they  died 
they  left  behind  them  the  memory  of  right  living, 
and  descendants  who  have  blessed  their  sires  for 
seeking  a  freer  life  in  the  new  world  in  so  comfort- 
able a  location. 

Notable  happenings  has  this  old  street  seen.  Sam- 
uel Sewall,  the  witchcraft  judge  and  Puritan  diarist, 
records  that  he  dined  at  Hart's  in  Lynn  —  the  old 
house  behind  the  big  buttonwood  at  the  corner  of 
Federal  and  Boston  Streets,  not  yet  forgotten  by  the 
elders.  John  Adams  frequently  rode  circuit  to  the 
East :  he,  too,  dined  at  Hart's.  Benedict  Arnold 
passed  by  this  spot  on  the  llth  of  September.  1775, 

196 


of  Old  Lynn 

upon  his  famous  and  quixotic  campaign  against  Que- 
bec. President  Washington  went  over  this  route  on 
the  29th  of  October,  1789,  in  his  own  chariot,  drawn 
by  four  horses,  with  Tobias  Lear  and  Major  Jackson 
as  outriders  on  horseback.  Of  Lynn,  Washington 
wrote  in  his  diary  :  "  It  is  said  175,000  pair  of  shoes 


HART'S,    IN    LYNN. 


(women's  chiefly)  have  been  made  in  a  year  by  about 
400  workmen.  There  is  only  a  row  of  houses,  and  not 
very  thick  on  each  side  of  the  road." 

The  turnpike  and  the  railroad  drew  pageant  travel 
away  from  the  hill,  and  left  the  Burrill  School  free  to 
go  on  its  studious  ways  unvexed  by  bustle  and  noise. 

197 


I  have  had  sufficient  warning  to  refrain  from  talk- 
ing local  history  here,  for  I  know  that  the  Principal 
of  this  school  has  a  great  scrapbook  into  which  has 
been  diligently  pasted  all  that  has  been  written  of  this 
locality.  I  may  say  something  of  the  family  from 
which  the  name  of  the  school  is  derived,  and  then 
pass  on  to  safer  ground. 

The  advent  of  the  Burrill  family  into  Lynn  is  co- 
eval with  its  settlement.  George  Burrill,  the  pioneer, 
came  from  England,  and  located  on  the  western  side 
of  Tower  Hill,  upon  a  grant  which  indicates  him  as  a 
principal  planter.  Of  him  it  is  sufficient  commenda- 
tion to  say  that  he  was  the  progenitor  of  a  family 
whose  several  generations  made  a  large  part  of  the 
annals  of  Lynn  for  a  hundred  years. 

His  son  John,  called  in  the  records  John  senior,  for 
many  years  a  "  prudential "  or  selectman,  as  such  was 
a  party  in  1686  to  the  famous  Indian  deed  of  Lynn. 
John  senior  was  the  colleague  of  fighting  Parson 
Jeremiah  Shepard  in  the  troubles  which  grew  out  of 
Sir  Edmund  Andros'  and  Edward  Randolph's  attempt 
to  steal  Nahant  from  the  inhabitants. 

The  broader  political  activity  of  the  Burrill  family 
dates  from  1691,  the  last  year  of  the  inter-charter 
period,  or  the  time  between  the  Colonial  and  the  Pro- 
vincial charters.  It  was  the  last  year  that  the  people 
of  Massachusetts  chose  their  own  Governor,  down  to 
the  time  when  the  State,  under  its  free  Constitution, 
elected  John  Hancock. 

The  venerable  Simon  Bradstreet,  styled  the  Nicias 
of  New  England,  was  Governor.  John  Burrill,  Sr.,  was 

198 


of  Old  Lynn 

Representative  to  the  Great  and  General  Court.  John 
Burrill,  Jr.,  became  Town  Clerk  of  Lynn,  which  office 
he  occupied  until  his  death,  thirty  years  later.  The 
Town  electing  but  one  Representative  at  a  time  for 
several  years,  father  and  son  alternated  in  represent- 
ing it.  John  Burrill,  Jr.,  was  a  Representative  twenty- 
four  years,  ten  of  which  he  served  as  Speaker.  From 
the  Speakership  he  went  into  the  Council  of  the  royal 
Governor. 

The  year  1721  was  an  exciting  one.  Very  little 
legislation  was  effected.  Governor  Samuel  Shute  and 
the  General  Court  were  fighting  one  of  the  hottest  of 
the  forensic  battles  which  for  many  years  the  people 
waged  with  the  royal  prerogative.  Worse  than  that, 
small-pox  raged  in  Boston  through  the  year.  The 
Court  was  adjourned  to  the  George  Tavern  on  Boston 
Neck,  then  to  Harvard  College,  then  to  the  "Swan 
Tavern,  because  of  the  small-box  near  the  College." 
All  was  in  vain,  so  far  as  the  Honorable  John  Burrill 
was  concerned. 

The  Boston  News-Letter  of  Monday,  December  18, 
1721,  contained  the  following  notice  under  date,  Lynn, 
December  11 :  — 

"The  last  night  the  Honorable  John  Burrill,  Esq., 
one  of  His  Majesty's  Council,  and  one  of  the  Judges 
of  the  Inferior  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  County 
of  Essex,  died  of  small-pox,  in  the  sixty-second  year 
of  his  age.  He  had  been  for  many  years  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  behaved  himself 
in  that  chair  with  great  integrity,  modesty  and  skill ; 
having  a  just  and  equal  regard  to  the  honor  of  the 

199 


Hearths  and  Homes 

government  and  the  liberty  of  the  people  ;  so  that  he 
was  highly  esteemed  and  beloved  by  both.  He  was  a 
man  of  true  and  exemplary  piety  and  virtue,  endowed 
with  a  very  clear  understanding,  solid  judgment,  and 
sound  discretion.  And  God  made  him  a  great  bless- 
ing, not  only  to  his  town  and  county,  but  to  the  whole 
province.  Isaiah  iii,  1 :  '  For  behold,  the  Lord  God  of 
hosts  doth  take  away  from  Judah  the  stay  and  staff  - 
the  Judge  —  and  the  prudent  —  the  honorable  —  and 
the  counsellor.' ' 

Governor  Thomas  Hutchinson,  the  historian  of  the 
period,  likens  Mr.  Burrill  to  "the  right  honourable 
person,  who  for  so  many  years  filled  the  chair  of  the 
House  of  Commons  with  such  applause."  The  Speaker 
of  the  Commons  referred  to  was  Sir  Arthur  Onslow, 
reputed  the  most  accomplished  parliamentarian  who 
ever  presided  in  the  English  House.  The  Governor 
says  that  the  House  "  were  as  fond  of  Mr.  Burrill  as 
of  their  eyes  "  ;  and  he  further  records,  "  I  have  often 
heard  his  contemporaries  applaud  him  for  his  great 
integrity,  his  acquaintance  with  parliamentary  forms, 
the  dignity  and  authority  with  which  he  filled  the 
chair,  the  order  and  decorum  he  maintained  in  the 
debates  of  the  House,  his  self-denial  in  remaining  in 
the  House,  from  year  to  year,  when  he  might  have 
been  chosen  into  the  Council,  and  saw  others  who 
called  him  their  father,  sent  there  before  him." 

Alonzo  Lewis  writes  :  — 

"  He  gained  a  reputation  which  few  men  who  have 
since  filled  his  stations  have  surpassed.  The  purity 
of  his  character  and  the  integrity  of  his  life  secured 
to  him  the  warmest  friendship  of  his  acquaintance, 

200 


of  Old  Lynn 

and  the  unlimited  confidence  of  his  native  town.  He 
was  affable  in  his  manners,  and  uniformly  prudent  in 
his  conduct.  His  disposition  was  of  the  most  chari- 
table kind,  and  his  spirit  regulated  by  the  most 
guarded  temperance.  He  willingly  continued  in  the 
House  many  years,  when  he  might  have  been  raised 
to  a  more  elevated  office,  and  his  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  the  forms  of  legislation,  the  dignity  of  his 
deportment,  and  the  order  which  he  maintained  in 
debate,  gave  to  him  a  respect  and  an  influence  which 
probably  no  other  Speaker  of  the  House  ever  ob- 
tained." 

Ebenezer  Burrill,  the  younger  brother  of  "the 
beloved  Speaker,"  was  also  a  man  of  mark  in  Town 
and  Colony.  He  was  a  Representative  six  times,  and 
a  member  of  the  royal  Governor's  Council  from  1731 
to  1746. 

These  brothers  were  the  only  Lynn  men  who  ever 
served  at  the  Council  board  of  the  royal  Governor. 
From  this  fact,  probably,  came  the  designation  which 
long  attached  to  the  Burrills  as  "  the  royal  family  of 
Lynn."  The  brothers  were  astute  politicians,  for  they 
had  long  public  careers  in  conspicuous  station,  and 
pleased  both  crown  and  people. 

After  them  came  two  other  Burrills,  sons  of 
Ebenezer.  Their  names  were  Ebenezer  and  Samuel. 
Ebenezer  was  Town  Clerk  seventeen  years,  and  Rep- 
resentative twelve.  He  was  one  of  "Sam  Adams' 
rebels."  His  services  in  the  General  Court  were 
during  the  momentous  years  from  1764  to  1775,  to 
the  very  time  that  saw  the  first  armed  resistance  to 
the  royal  authority.  Samuel  Burrill  had  the  felicity 

201 


Hearths  and  Homes 

to  be  the  Lynn  member  of  the  venerated  convention 
of  1779,  which  framed  the  State  Constitution,  under 
which  we  live  to-day.  He  served  as  Representative 
down  to  1783,  and  thus  rounded  out  a  full  century  of 
eminent  public  service  by  one  family. 

The  perspective  of  fifty  years  is  not  long  enough 
to  treat  of  local  history.  The  actors  upon  the  stage 
are  too  near  for  us  to  critically  compare  the  then  and 
now.  For  example,  the  two  opposing  forces  in  the 
year  1850  were  perhaps  George  Hood  and  Daniel  C. 
Baker.  They  have  passed  on,  but  their  children  are 
our  associates  of  to-day.  One  member  of  the  first 
City  Council  is  still  a  vigorous  writer  for  the  press.1 
John  L.  Shorey,  then  a  teacher,  is  to  address  one  of 
the  schools  to-day.  Master  King  died  long  ago,  but 
he  left  a  very  active  set  of  schoolboys  behind  him. 
The  Principal  of  this  school  fifty  years  ago,  now  the 
accomplished  Librarian  of  our  noble  Public  Library, 
John  C.  Houghton,2  sits  beside  me  to-day. 

I  cannot  comment  upon  1850,  so  I  have  deemed  it 
wiser  to  devote  my  time  mainly  to  a  study  of  some 
curious  figures  in  New  England  history. 

We  do  not  study  the  stars  from  the  housetops  as 
did  the  wise  men  of  the  East,  nor  do  events  out  of 
the  common  seem  to  us  as  special  providences  given 
for  our  reproof  or  guidance,  as  they  appeared  to  our 
ancestors  of  Governor  Winthrop's  time. 

Joseph  M.  Rowell. 

'2John  Clarkson  Houghton  was  born  in  Lynn,  July  1,  1823.  He 
died  in  Lynn,  July  26,  1905.  For  forty-two  years  he  was  connected 
with  the  Lynn  Public  Library  as  Trustee  and  Librarian. 

202 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  19th  day  of  April,  which  Massachusetts  has 
decreed  a  public  holiday,  is,  beyond  all  other  days  in 
the  calendar,  the  anniversary  of  the  mysterious  cycle 
days  of  New  England.  It  is  the  day  upon  which  at 
periods  eighty-six  years  apart  have  happened  mo- 
mentous and  portending  events  relating  to  our  history. 
Whether  mathematics  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
sequence  of  human  events,  Omnipotence  only  knows, 
but  figures  show  a  remarkable  coincidence  at  least. 
To  April  19,  1603,  add  86  years.  The  result  is  April 
19, 1689.  Add  another  86  years.  The  result  is  April 
19,  1775.  Add  yet  another  86  years,  and  we  have 
April  19,  1861. 

I  cannot  claim  any  patent  upon  this  cycle  day  of 
New  England.  John  Gorham  Palfrey,  in  his  erudite 
and  —  from  the  Puritan  standpoint — most  satisfac- 
tory history  of  New  England,  brought  out  its  peculiar 
recurrence.  The  volume  in  which  it  was  mentioned 
was  published  in  1864,  shortly  after  the  latest  repe- 
tition of  the  day. 

From  time  to  time  since  then  I  have  thought  that 
the  theme  might  be  amplified.  The  invitation  for 
to-day  gave  me  the  opportunity  to  indulge  in  some 
thoughts  upon  the  matter.  Dr.  Palfrey  is  an  eminent 
witness  to  call  —  he  is  an  authority  upon  our  history 
—  and  after  I  had  prepared  the  substance  of  what  I 
am  to  say  to  you,  I  hunted  up  his  book,  which  I  had 
not  seen  since  my  first  reading  at  the  time  of  its  pub- 
lication. I  was  curious  to  know  how  closely  I  had 
carried  his  theory  in  my  mind  in  the  intervening 
years.  Let  me  give  Dr.  Palfrey's  own  words,  only 

203 


Hearths  and  Homes 

prefacing  by  saying,  that  I  did  not  remember  that  he 
extended  the  parallel  across  the  water.  It  seems  that 
he  did  carry  it  back  to  1603,  but  did  not  fix  the  exact 
month  and  day. 

"  In  the  history  of  New  England  there  are  chrono- 
logical parallelisms  not  unworthy  of  remark.  Some 
critical  events  in  it  were  just  a  century  apart.  In 
1665  the  courtiers  tried  her  temper  with  Lord  Claren- 
don's Commission ;  in  1765  they  tried  it  with  Lord 
George  Grenville's  Stamp  Act.  In  1675  began  the 
attack  on  her  freedom  which  I  have  recorded  in  this 
volume  ;  in  1775  began  the  invasion  which  led  to  her 
independence  of  Great  Britain.  But  the  cycle  of  New 
England  is  eighty-six  years.  In  the  spring  of  1603, 
the  family  of  Stuart  ascended  the  throne  of  England. 
At  the  end  of  eighty-six  years,  Massachusetts  having 
been  betrayed  to  her  enemies  by  her  most  eminent 
and  trusted  citizen,  Joseph  Dudley,  the  people,  on  the 
19th  day  of  April,  1689,  committed  their  prisoner,  the 
deputy  of  the  Stuart  King,  to  the  fort  in  Boston  which 
he  had  built  to  overawe  them.  Another  eighty-six 
years  passed,  and  Massachusetts  had  been  betrayed 
to  her  enemies  by  her  most  eminent  and  trusted  citi- 
zen, Thomas  Hutchinson,  when,  at  Lexington  and 
Concord,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  her  farmers 
struck  the  first  blow  in  the  war  of  American  inde- 
pendence. Another  eighty-six  years  ensued,  and  a 
domination  of  slaveholders,  more  odious  than  that  of 
Stuarts  or  of  Guelphs,  had  been  fastened  upon  her, 
when,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1861,  the  streets  of  Balti- 
more were  stained  by  the  blood  of  her  soldiers  on 
their  way  to  uphold  liberty  and  law  by  the  rescue  of 
the  national  Capital." 


204 


of  Old  Lynn 

We  may  add  another  and  an  earlier  cycle  day  to 
to  those  named  by  Dr.  Palfrey.  It  occurred  while 
our  fathers  were  yet  in  the  old  home.  We  go  back 
to  old  England  eighty-six  years,  to  dwell  for  a  mo- 
ment upon  the  cause  of  our  being  here  to-day  in  this 
fair  New  England  city,  instead  of  in  an  obscure  old 
England  parish. 

The  year  1603  was  pregnant  with  happenings  which 
influenced  the  planting  of  New  England.  On  the 
24th  of  March  of  that  year  died  Elizabeth,  the  great 
Queen  of  England.  On  the  3d  of  April,  James,  her 
successor,  the  son  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots  —  martyr 
or  monster,  as  you  read  partisan  history  —  attended 
service  at  the  High  Church  of  St.  Giles  at  Edinburgh, 
and  delivered  a  farewell  harangue  to  the  congrega- 
tion. His  journey  to  London  took  thirty-two  days. 
So  that,  upon  our  fateful  day,  the  19th  of  April,  1603, 
this  man,  whose  mental  make-up  had  so  much  to  do 
with  the  growth  of  the  Puritan  idea,  was  just  half 
way  from  the  old  to  the  new  —  from  Edinburgh  to 
London. 

Of  the  King's  first  meeting  with  the  Puritan 
ministers  Charles  Knight  writes  :  - 

"  When  the  Puritan  ministers  presented  their  peti- 
tion to  James  on  his  journey  to  London  they  asked 
for  a  conference.  On  the  14th,  15th  and  16th  of 
January,  1604,  the  King  summoned  to  Hampton 
Court  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  eight  bishops, 
five  deans,  and  two  doctors,  who  were  to  sustain  the 
ceremonies  and  practises  of  the  church  and  to  oppose 
all  innovation.  To  meet  them  four  members  of  the 

205 


Hearths  and  Homes 

reforming  party  were  summoned,  including  Dr.  Rey- 
nolds, a  divine  of  acknowledged  learning  and  ability. 
Royalty  never  displayed  itself  in  a  more  undignified 
manner.  Episcopacy  never  degraded  itself  more  by 
a  servile  flattery  of  royalty.  James,  in  his  insolent 
demeanour  to  the  representatives  of  a  growing  party 
in  the  English  church,  thought  to  avenge  himself  for 
the  humiliation  he  had  been  occasionally  compelled 
to  endure  from  ministers  of  the  Scottish  kirk.  He 
was  the  chief  talker  in  these  conferences.  Harring- 
ton, who  was  present,  says,  '  The  King  talked  much 
Latin,  and  disputed  with  Dr.  Reynolds ;  but  he  rather 
used  upbraidings  than  argument,  and  told  the  peti- 
tioners that  they  wanted  to  strip  Christ  again,  and 
bid  them  away  with  their  snivelling.  .  .  .  The  bishops 
seemed  much  pleased,  and  said  His  Majesty  spoke 
by  the  power  of  inspiration.  I  wist  not  what  they 
mean,  but  the  spirit  was  rather  foul-mouthed.'  A 
few  alterations  were  made  in  the  Common  Prayer 
Book,  and  a  new  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was 
ordered  to  be  undertaken.  James  had  taken  his  side  ; 
but  his  pedantic  vanity,  though  suited  to  the  taste 
of  Bishop  Bancroft  who  fell  upon  his  knees  and 
thanked  God  for  giving  them  such  a  king,  was  not 
quite  fitted  for  the  government  of  the  English  nation." 

At  the  time  the  iconoclastic  achievements  of 
Henry  VIII  and  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  Cecil  and 
Shakespeare  and  Bacon  and  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish 
Armada  had  broken  the  shackles  and  opened  the  eyes 
of  all  Englishmen  to  a  broader  life,  this  man,  whom 
Macaulay  thus  describes,  came  upon  the  scene  :  - 

"It  was  no  light  thing  that,  on  the  very  eve  of 
the  decisive  struggle  between  our  Kings  and  their 
Parliaments,  royalty  should  be  exhibited  to  the  world 

206 


of  Old  Lynn 

stammering,  slobbering,  shedding  unmanly  tears, 
trembling  at  a  drawn  sword,  and  talking  in  the  style 
alternately  of  a  buffoon  and  of  a  pedagogue." 

This  is  a  pen  drawing  by  the  great  historian  of  the 
King,  whose  name  is  prefixed  to  our  version  of  the 
Bible  as  King  James,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  because 
the  translation  of  the  prelates  was  made  during  the 
reign  of  this  man,  whom  Sully  aptly  styled  "the 
wisest  fool  in  Christendom." 

The  straightness  of  the  Scottish  Protestantism  was 
galling  to  the  son  of  Catholic  Mary.  It  was  an  easy 
step  for  this  self-indulgent  man  to  fall  under  the 
influence  of  the  Anglican  prelates. 

A  bundle  of  contradictions,  James  madly  asserted 
the  divine  right  of  kings,  which  had  its  legitimate 
result  in  the  disgraceful  death  of  his  son  on  the 
scaffold  and  the  ignominious  flight  of  his  grandson 
before  the  victorious  approach  of  William  of  Orange. 
The  Stuart  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  made 
Parliament  and  country  Puritan  for  the  time  being. 

Anglican  prelacy  had  driven  men  of  tender  con- 
sciences, like  Robinson,  Carver,  Brewster  and  Win- 
slow,  to  Leyden,  in  Holland,  from  whence,  desiring 
to  rear  their  children  in  English  habits  and  English 
tongue,  they  had  fled  to  the  bleak  shores  of  New 
Plymouth. 

This  New  Plymouth  was,  however,  in  the  divine 
plan,  the  fertile  seed-ground  for  the  planting  of  the 
world-compelling  religious  and  political  freedom  for- 
mulated in  the  immortal  compact  signed  in  the  cabin 
of  the  May/flower  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor,  on  the  lid  of 

207 


Hearths  and  Homes 

a  chest,  November  11,  1620  (0.  S.).  There  the  Pil- 
grims from  Scrooby  and  Auster field,  upon  the  sure 
foundation  of  Plymouth  Rock,  anchored  the  ark  of 
the  world's  progress. 

.  After  the  death  of  James,  in  1625,  and  the  acces- 
sion of  his  abler  but  more  stiff-necked  son,  the  ill- 
fated  Charles,  the  persecution  of  the  Puritans  by 
Archbishop  Laud  and  the  prelacy  redoubled  its 
energy.  Then  began  the  great  exodus  of  the  Puri- 
tans to  New  England.  First  came  Conant  and  the 
old  planters  to  Gloucester,  then  to  Salem.  Next  came 
Captain  Endicott  with  the  advance  guard  of  "The 
Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England." 
In  June,  1630,  Winthrop  arrived,  bearing  the  charter 
which  our  fathers  guarded  so  carefully  as  the  Magna 
Charta  of  their  liberties. 

From  1630  to  1640  the  immigration  of  Puritans 
continued  to  these  shores.  Then  the  current  ceased 
to  flow,  for  the  success  of  the  Parliament  in  the 
struggle  with  the  Crown  brightened  the  prospects  of 
the  good  men  at  home,  and  some,  like  Hugh  Peters 
of  Salem,  returned  for  service  under  Cromwell  and 
for  martyrdom  under  the  Restoration. 

Of  that  amazing  religious  movement,  which  had 
its  freest  scope  and  fullest  development  among  our 
own  people  of  Massachusetts,  an  immense  and  ever- 
increasing  literature  has  been  created. 

The  pens  of  men  and  women  of  all  shades  of  view, 
narrow  and  broad,  have  found  increasing  fascination 
in  the  story  of  the  initiation,  struggles,  development 
and  consequences  of  Puritanism. 

208 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  founders  of  Massachusetts  were  the  most 
profoundly  steeped  in  religion  of  any  people  in  the 
world ;  they  were  the  most  humble  in  sight  of  God, 
but  they  were  exceedingly  proud  before  man  —  hence 
they  conquered  themselves  first  and  the  world  later. 

Our  people  were  closely  allied,  by  blood,  political 
creed  and  religious  belief,  with  the  Puritans  of  Eng- 
land, who  were  discontented  under  the  restoration 
of  Charles  II.  Charles  and  his  ministers  early  dis- 
covered that  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  was  a 
thorn  in  his  side.  He  was  in  a  wrangle  with  the 
Colony  all  through  his  reign.  The  Charter  was 
finally  vacated  October  23,  1684.  Charles  died  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1685.  James  II  was  proclaimed  in  Boston 
April  20,  1685.  The  Colony  was  without  a  charter. 

The  disposition  of  the  new  king  was  unknown, 
but  feared.  The  gifted,  but  much  disliked,  Edward 
Randolph,  the  evil  genius  of  the  Colony,  who  had 
been  an  important  factor  in  the  overthrow  of  our 
Charter,  was  here.  There  was  an  interregnum,  a 
troubled  season  of  waiting. 

On  September  29,  1686,  James,  under  the  'great 
seal,  cast  the  thunderbolt  by  making  the  astute  Sir 
Edmund  Andros  Governor-General  of  New  England. 
December  20th  he  landed  in  Boston  and  published 
his  commission.  Edward  Randolph  was  Secretary. 
These  men  were  hated  more  than  any  other  two  men 
who  ever  came  to  these  shores.  The  attempt  of 
Randolph,  whose  covetous  eyes  had  looked  upon  the 
beauties  of  Nahant,  to  steal  it  from  the  inhabitants 
of  Lynn,  had  excited  intense  indignation  and  was 

209 
14 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  main  public  topic  of  discussion  in  Lynn  for  years. 
Many  were  the  devices  which  our  long-headed  fathers 
adopted  to  foil  Andros  and  Randolph.  One,  and  an 
ingenious  one  it  was,  set  up  the  Indians  as  owners 
of  the  soil  against  the  prerogative  of  the  King  of 
England.  Then  they  persuaded  the  Indians  to  con- 
vey their  supposed  titles  to  the  planters,  generally 
in  their  collective  capacity. 

The  Salem  deed  conveys  to  the  Selectmen  and 
Trustees  for  the  Town  of  Salem  "for  the  sole  use, 
benefit  and  behoof  of  the  Proprietors  in  and  pur- 
chasers of  ye  township  of  Salem."  The  Lynn  deed 
runs  "  to  the  Trustees  and  Prudentials  in  behalf  of 
the  Proprietors."  Each  of  the  town  deeds  was  for 
a  consideration  of  twenty  pounds.  The  date  of  the 
Salem  deed  was  October  11,  1686,  and  the  acknowl- 
edgment was  of  the  same  day.  The  Lynn  deed  bears 
date  September  4,  1686,  but  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  acknowledged  until  May  31,  1687.  The  deeds 
were  executed  before  a  noted  settler,  Bartholomew 
Gedney  of  the  King's  Council.  Felt,  in  his  " Annals 
of  Salem,"  notes  a  fact  which  is  apparent  to  other 
observers,  namely,  that  there  is  a  lack  of  uniformity 
in  the  orthography  of  the  original  deeds,  particularly 
as  to  the  Indian  names. 

The  motive  in  procuring  these  releases  is  seen  in 
a  conversation  in  March,  1689.  Andros  and  some  of 
his  friends  called  upon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Higginson,  the 
Minister  of  Salem.  Andros  asks  the  latter  whether 
the  territory  of  New  England  does  not  belong  to 
the  King.  The  reply  is  in  the  negative,  because  the 

210 


of  Old  Lynn 

Colonists  own  it  by  right  of  just  occupation  and  by 
purchase  from  the  Indians. 

In  the  course  of  debate  Andros  says,  with  warmth, 
"Either  you  are  his  subjects  or  you  are  rebels," 
intimating  that  if  the  people  did  not  yield  their  lands 
to  His  Majesty,  take  new  grants  and  pay  rents  for 
them,  they  should  be  treated  as  rebels. 

Andros  claimed  that  on  the  forfeiture  of  the 
Charter  all  lands  reverted  to  the  Crown,  and  that 
the  owners,  to  hold  them  legally,  must  take  out 
patents  of  confirmation  from  the  new  government. 
A  schedule  of  forms  and  fees  was  arranged  by  which 
his  friends  were  to  be  enriched.  The  commons  of 
several  of  the  towns  were  seized  and  given  to  his 
followers,  notably  the  Ten  Hill  Farm  of  nine  hundred 
acres  in  Charlestown,  given  to  Lieut.-Col.  Lidgett,  to 
be  held  under  the  Crown  at  a  nominal  rent,  the  details 
of  which  are  fully  set  forth  by  Frothingham  in  his 
recital  of  the  petty  tyranny  of  Andros.  While  Andros 
was  thus  scheming  for  the  overthrow  of  the  rights 
of  the  Colonists,  events  in  the  mother  country  were 
changing  the  destinies  of  the  English  race. 

William  of  Orange,  of  blessed  memory,  landed  in 
England.  William  and  Mary  became  King  and  Queen. 

News  of  the  deposition  of  James  reached  Boston 
April  18,  1689.  The  hour  of  vengeance  had  come  at 
last.  The  Colony  rose  in  arms,  imprisoned  Andros 
and  Randolph,  and  the  usurpation  of  New  England 
was  at  an  end.  The  sturdy  planters  of  Essex  County 
had  an  important  share  in  that  drama  of  freedom. 
It  was  the  most  eventful  epoch  of  the  Colony  down 

211 


Hearths  and  Homes 

to  the  American  Revolution.  There  is  in  the  Lam- 
beth Palace,  at  London,  among  the  papers  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  manuscript  account  of 
the  uprising,  said  to  be  in  the  handwriting  of  Randolph 
himself. 
The  writer  says  :  - 

"April  19th,  about  11  o'clock,  the  country  came  in, 
headed  by  one  Shepard,  teacher,  of  Lynn,  who  were 
like  so  many  wild  bears,  and  the  leader,  mad  with 
passion,  more  savage  than  any  of  his  followers.  All 
the  cry  was  for  the  Governor  and  Mr.  Randolph." 

July  24,  1689,  Randolph  wrote  from  jail  to  the 
Lords  of  Trade,  "All  things  are  carried  on  by  a  furi- 
ous rabble  animated  by  ye  crafty  ministers." 

Those  old  Puritan  pastors,  in  spite  of  their  brim- 
stone preaching,  were  men  raised  up  to  lead  in  the 
wilderness.  They  were  the  apostles  of  the  modern 
civilization.  This  Jeremiah  Shepard  had  a  stormy 
and  turbulent  career  in  his  earlier  years  as  a  minister 
at  Rowley  and  Ipswich.  That  training  stood  him  in 
good  stead  in  later  years  in  the  Andros  crisis.  In 
that  year  of  grace  he  was  not  only  the  spiritual 
guide,  but  also  Lynn's  member  of  the  General  Court 
and  leader  of  its  physical  force.  He  was  Pastor, 
Legislator  and  Captain.  That  his  muscular  and  men- 
tal fibre  were  adapted  to  the  locality  is  manifest  from 
the  fact  that  he  died  here  with  the  harness  on  in 
1720,  forty  years  after  his  settlement. 

April  17,  1629,  a  letter,  dated  at  Gravesend,  was 
written  by  the  Governor  and  Deputy  of  the  Company 

212 


of  Old  Lynn 

in  England  to  Mr.  Endicott.     In  it  was  the  following 
advice  :  - 

"  If  any  of  the  Saluages  pretend  right  of  inherit- 
ance to  all  or  any  part  of  the  lands,  graunted  in  our 
Pattent,  we  pray  you  endeavour  to  purchase  their 
tytle,  that  we  may  avoid  the  least  scruple  of  intrusion." 

It  is  true  there  were  frequent  troubles  with  the 
Indians,  but  this  deed  was  given  ten  years  after 
Governor  Josiah  Winslow  had  sent  Charles  II  the 
"  best  of  our  spoyles  of  the  Sachem  Phillip,  taken  by 
Capt.  Benjamin  Church  when  he  was  slayne  by  him, 
being  his  crowne,  his  gorge,  and  two  belts  of  their 
own  making  of  their  gould  and  silver."  King  Philip 
and  his  warriors  were  far  from  our  vicinity,  away  off 
on  the  borders  of  Rhode  Island.  The  next  Indian 
outbreak  was  as  far  away  as  Wells  in  Maine.  This 
happened  in  the  spring  of  1690.  So  that  the  tardy 
compliance  with  the  Governor's  advice  to  Mr.  Endi- 
cott was  not  dictated  by  any  nearby  danger  from  the 
Indians,  who,  so  far  as  any  tribal  power  went,  were 
remote.  It  is  also  hardly  reasonable  that  the  Colon- 
ists, after  sixty  years  of  undisturbed  possession  of 
the  soil,  had  awakened  to  consciousness  of  the  prior 
rights  of  a  savage  race  whom  they  had  learned  to 
despise  hereabouts  from  their  scant  numbers,  but 
were  alert  to  send  their  fighting  men  hundreds  of 
miles  into  the  wilderness  to  hunt  down  and  exter- 
minate as  they  did  wolves  and  other  marauders. 

The  second  generation  —  the  sons  of  the  compan- 
ions of  Winthrop  and  Endicott,  the  first  generation 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  American-born  Englishmen,  the  sons  who  had 
helped  their  fathers  clear  the  wilderness  and  estab- 
lish homes  in  the  new  world  —  had  come  into  pos- 
session of  their  heritage.  After  the  struggle  with 
Nature,  after  the  fathers  had  yielded  the  burdens 
of  pioneer  life  to  the  stalwart  sons,  and  the  mortal 
part  of  many  had  been  tenderly  laid  away  in  God's 
Acre  in  each  little  hamlet,  no  sentimental  considera- 
tion of  justice,  no  fear  of  personal  danger  from  the 
scattered  aborigines,  moved  these  hardy  first-born 
sons  of  English- Americans  to  carry  out  the  injunction 
given  their  fathers  by  the  company  in  England.  It 
was  rather  one  of  the  early  lessons  in  the  school  of 
independence  which  culminated  in  the  clash  of  arms 
in  the  next  century  at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill. 
It  was  one  in  an  unbroken  series  of  happenings  from 
their  first  arrival,  which  demonstrate  the  purpose  of 
our  ancestors  to  found  a  Puritan  Commonwealth, 
independent  alike  of  the  English  Church  and  the 
English  Crown.  Were  they  seers  who  could  pene- 
trate the  veil  of  futurity  and  witness  the  marvelous 
growth  of  the  greater  England  which  they  planted  ? 

This  cycle  of  eighty-six  years  from  the  accession 
of  James  I  to  the  deposition  and  flight  of  his  grand- 
son and  namesake,  of  whom  it  can  be  truthfully  said 
that  there  is  hardly  a  sovereign  mentioned  in  history 
of  whom  one  can  find  less  good  to  say,  embraces  the 
whole  period  of  Stuart  rule  in  England.  In  the 
language  of  royalty  the  reigns  of  these  four  Stuarts, 
James  I,  Charles  I,  Charles  II  and  James  II  had  been 
continuous. 

214 


of  Old  Lynn 

In  fact,  there  had  been  an  important  interregnum, 
when  England  was  ruled  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  the 
greatest  all-round  man  whom  the  English  race  has 
produced.  During  the  struggles  at  home  between 
King  and  Parliament,  befriended  by  Cromwell  and 
the  Commonwealth  of  England,  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  had  waxed  strong. 

Then  came  eighty-six  years  under  the  Hanoverian 
dynasty  and  a  government  at  home  of  Ministers  and 
here  of  a  Council  and  General  Court,  comparatively 
free,  but  nominally  under  a  series  of  royal  Governors 
who  did  not  find  their  positions  sinecures.  The  igno- 
rance of  the  Ministers  of  George  of  the  temper  of 
the  people  of  the  Colonies,  the  Stamp  Act,  and  taxa- 
tion without  representation,  brought  about  that  other 
mysterious  cycle  day,  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  when 
armed  resistance  —  the  ordeal  of  battle  —  enforced 
what  Winthrop  and  the  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  in  New  England  meant  when  they  landed  in 
Salem  in  June,  1630  —  absolute  freedom  from  old 
world  rule. 

The  fourth  great  cycle  day  of  New  England  was 
the  19th  of  April,  1861,  when  the  men  of  the  Sixth 
Massachusetts  Regiment  were  fired  upon  in  the  streets 
of  Baltimore.  The  blood  shed  on  that  day  was  the 
opening  of  the  most  gigantic  contest  of  arms  of  the 
modern  world.  No  man  at  its  beginning  was  wise 
enough  to  see  that  out  of  the  sacrifices  of  that  war 
was  to  come  the  abolition  of  chattel  slavery  of  human 
beings  on  the  western  continent  —  and  in  the  world 
among  white  men,  save  in  South  Africa;  and  even 

215 


Hearths  and  Homes 

there  British  guns  are  to-day  sounding  its  death- 
knell.  War  is  a  stern  teacher,  but  civilization  and 
human  progress  will  follow  Lord  Roberts'  triumph  as 
surely  in  South  Africa  as  they  did  after  Sherman's 
march  to  the  sea  and  Grant's  crowning  victory  at 
Appomattox. 

In  conclusion,  I  may  sum  up  the  turning  events  of 
these  four  striking  periods,  upon  the  first  and  second 
of  which  I  have  more  fully  touched,  as  they  are  more 
remote  and  less  apt  to  be  enlarged  upon  :  - 

March  24,  1603,  the  great  Queen  died.  On  the 
19th  of  April  her  crooked  successor,  James  Stuart, 
was  just  half  way  from  Scotland  to  London  on  his 
journey  to  assume  the  crown.  The  Stuart  applica- 
tion of  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  to 
absolute  rule  filled  the  sails  of  the  Mayflower  till  she 
landed  the  immortal  band  of  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth 
Rock,  and  directed  the  course  of  the  Puritans  to 
Massachusetts  Bay.  Eighty-six  years  from  that  day, 
on  April  19,  1689,  news  having  arrived  in  Boston  of 
the  deposition  of  the  last  of  Stuart  Kings,  the  men 
of  Massachusetts  arose  in  righteous  indignation  and 
imprisoned  his  Governor  and  tool  —  New  England's 
tyrant  —  Sir  Edmond  Andros.  Eighty-six  years  again 
passed,  and  on  the  historic  19th  of  April,  1775, "  the  em- 
battled farmers  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world," 
on  Lexington  Green,  and  the  first  blood  was  shed  in 
the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Again  eighty-six  years 
revolve,  and  another  portent  is  seen  on  the  same 
remarkable  date,  April  19,  1861,  when  the  first  blood 
is  shed  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  —  the  blood  of 

216 


of  Old  Lynn 

Massachusetts  men  —  the  opening  of  the  gigantic 
slaveholders'  Rebellion. 

Here  are  four  cycles  of  eighty-six  years,  each  with 
its  initial  and  dramatic  movement  upon  the  19th  of 
April.  There  is  no  day  in  the  calendar  of  Massachu- 
setts that  can  be  compared  with  this  great  cycle  day. 
These  four  events  are  the  very  hinges  of  the  crises 
of  our  existence  as  a  civilized  community.  The  first 
is  the  compelling  influence  in  the  planting  of  the 
Colony ;  the  second  is  the  overthrow  of  prelacy  and 
despotism  ;  the  third  is  the  resort  to  arms  against 
the  Crown ;  and  the  last  is  the  purification  by  offer- 
ing upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice  its  heroic  sons  that  the 
nation  might  live.  This  is  a  most  curious  historic 
cycle.  Surely  every  loyal  son  of  Massachusetts  has 
an  equal  right  to  be  proud  of  the  19th  of  April,  and 
to  make  his  gladness  known  of  all  men  upon  that  day. 


217 


ESSEX  FARMS:1 
THE  CRADLES  OF  AMERICAN  HOMES. 


HOREAU,  the  keen  observer,  the  philosopher 
of  Nature,  walking  along  the  southern  expo- 
sure of  his  neighbor's  hill-top  on  a  first  day 
of  March,  noted  in  his  journal :  — 

"  It  is  spring  there,  and  Minot  is  puttering  outside 
in  the  sun.  How  wise  in  his  grandfather  to  select 
such  a  site  for  his  house." 

The  Essex  Agricultural  Society,  the  honored  guild 
of  the  farmers  of  Essex,  has  had  a  corporate  exist- 
ence of  seventy-five  years,  having  been  incorporated 
in  1818. 

To-day  occurs  the  seventieth  annual  address.  The 
psalmist  says  that  "  three  score  years  and  ten  are  the 
length  of  man's  days."  The  unbounded  vitality  of 
our  Society  after  seventy-five  years  of  usefulness  is 
a  striking  reversal  of  Shakespeare's  aphorism,  "  The 
evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them."  We  can  say 
-  the  good  that  men  do  lives  after  them. 

At  such  a  milestone  perhaps  we  may  rest  for  one 


1  Essex  Agricultural  Society,    at  Haverhill,    Mass.,   Thursday, 
September  21,  1893. 

219 


Hearths  and  Homes 

day  from  learned  discussions  and  philosophical  essays 
and  glance  back  over  the  way  we  have  traveled  and 
then  forward  to  see  what  lies  before  us. 

There  is  a  fraternity  of  race  blood  in  this  Society 
which  may  not  be  apparent  to  outsiders.  Strangers 
may  query  why  so  many  names  appear  as  the  authors 
of  annual  addresses  who  are  not  practical  farmers. 
The  point  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  here  in 
this  ancient  and  historic  Haverhill. 

A  few  years  since,  an  instructive  address  was 
delivered  by  your  brilliant  young  District  Attorney.1 
Readers  of  the  wonderful  self-revealing  "  Diary  "  of 
Chief  Justice  Samuel  Sewall  —  the  brave  Witchcraft 
Judge,  who  publicly  acknowledged  his  error  —  him- 
self an  Essex  man,  will  appreciate  the  interest  which 
the  sons  take  in  the  affairs  of  the  old  County.  Sew- 
all's  "  Diary  "  abounds  in  references  to  Brother  Moody, 
and  whoever  bears  in  his  veins  the  Colonial  blood  of 
the  Sewalls  and  Moodys  must  respond  to  the  call  for 
service  from  his  kin. 

SewalPs  "  Diary  "  also  lovingly  dwells  upon  many 
cherished  visits  at  Brother  Northend's.  Hence  a 
descendant  of  Brother  Northend  of  the  old  stock, 
going  out  to  Nature  for  strength  for  forensic  toils, 
came  to  the  Society  with  words  of  experience.2 

Another  man  of  our  own  time,  whose  family  lines 
run  back  to  the  planting  of  the  Colony,  whose  genial 

1  William  H.  Moody,  now  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States. 
-  The  late  Hon.  William  Dummer  Northend,  author  of  ' '  The  Bay 
Colony. ' ' 

220 


of  Old  Lynn 

presence  has  been  a  benison  to  our  annual  gatherings 
-  the  beloved  Sheriff  —  has  been  a  welcome  speaker.1 

Timothy  Pickering,  who  delivered  the  first  address 
and  was  the  organizer  and  first  President  of  this 
Society,  may  not  be  called  a  practical  farmer,  but 
every  fibre  of  his  being  was  in  close  touch  with  the 
men  of  the  soil  who  made  Essex  County  historic 
ground. 

Before  the  tragic  scenes  at  Lexington  and  Concord 
had  startled  the  world,  Col.  Timothy  Pickering  and 
the  men  of  Salem  had  made  (February  28,  1775)  the 
first  armed  resistance  to  British  aggression  at  the 
old  North  Bridge.  In  February,  the  men  of  Salem 
and  Marblehead  struck  the  key-note,  which,  in  April, 
resounded  from  Middlesex. 

Colonel  Pickering  was  Postmaster  General,  Secre- 
tary of  War  and  Secretary  of  State  in  the  cabinets 
of  Washington  and  Adams.  Later,  he  was  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Essex  County  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
United  States  Senator  and  Representative  in  Congress 
from  the  Essex  District. 

He  rounded  out  a  long  and  useful  career  by  pro- 
moting and  organizing  the  Society  under  whose  aus- 
pices we  are  assembled  to-day.  Under  his  call  the 
first  meeting  was  held  at  Cyrus  Cummings'  tavern,  at 
Topsfield,  on  the  16th  day  of  February,  1818.  Ichabod 
Tucker  was  chosen  Moderator,  and  David  Cummings, 
Secretary ;  these,  with  John  Adams,  Paul  Kent  and 


1  The  late  Hon.  Horatio  G.  Herrick,  for  many  years  Sheriff  of 
Essex. 

221 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Elisha  Mack,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  re- 
port a  plan  of  organization.  Timothy  Pickering 
was  chosen  President ;  and  William  Bartlett,  Dr. 
Thomas  Kittredge,  John  Heard  and  Ichabod  Tucker, 
Vice-Presidents  ;  Leverett  Saltonstall,  Secretary  ;  and 
Dr.  Nehemiah  Cleaveland,  Treasurer.  Timothy  Pick- 
ering was  annually  chosen  President  for  ten  years,  to 
1829,  when  he  again  delivered  the  annual  address. 

Colonel  Pickering  was  followed  by  Andrew  Nichols, 
the  botanist,  the  beloved  physician  of  Danvers. 

Then  came  that  liberal  preacher,  the  Rev.  Abiel 
Abbott,  of  Beverly,  of  whom  President  Monroe  said 
that  he  was  the  best  talker  he  ever  knew. 

From  that  day  on  the  clergymen  have  done  their 
share  of  the  talking,  as  was  eminently  fit  in  a  society 
of  Puritan  descent.  I  shall  not  presume  to  speak  of 
the  living,  so  I  pass  by  the  present  pastor  of  the 
First  Church  (the  Village  Church)  of  Danvers,  and 
mention  his  predecessor,  the  sturdy  leader  of  Ortho- 
dox thought,  the  preacher  of  the  faith  of  the  fathers, 
the  Rev.  Milton  P.  Braman.  And  there  is  also  re- 
called that  pious  scholar,  wit  and  humorist,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Leonard  Withington,  of  Newbury,  who  described 
himself  as  "  a  modified  Calvinist." 

The  Bar  has  been  drawn  upon  for  its  leaders  from 
"the  silver-tongued"  James  H.  Duncan,  and  his 
cousin,  the  courtly  Leverett  Saltonstall,  to  the  time 
of  Judge  Otis  P.  Lord  and  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler. 
Caleb  Gushing  obeyed  your  call,  he,  of  whom  Isaac  0. 
Barnes  wittily  and  truthfully  said  :  "  There  is  a  living 
self-moving  cyclopedia,  from  whom  you  can  obtain 

222 


of  Old  Lynn 

information  upon  every  question  that  has  interested 
any  people  in  any  age  of  the  world." 

Gen.  Henry  K.  Oliver,  the  versatile,  the  teacher, 
the  sweet  singer,  the  mayor  of  two  cities,  made  his 
contribution,  and  the  fluent,  ever-ready  Dr.  George  B. 
Loring  was  here,  as  everywhere  among  farmers,  the 
popular  favorite,  for  he  delivered  the  annual  address 
on  three  occasions. 

This  is  not  a  catalogue  of  names  of  those  who  have 
addressed  the  Society,  but  I  cannot  refrain  from 
naming  two  who  were  zealous  in  the  cause  of  intelli- 
gent forestry.  Ben  :  Perley  Poore  made  Indian  Hill 
a  magnet  that  drew  wits,  savants,  and  practical  men 
of  affairs  from  the  world  over.  Richard  S.  Fay  made 
Lynnmere  an  earthly  paradise.  He  created  a  forest 
which  has  become  a  profitable  woodland.  It  is  a 
stately  memorial  of  the  taste  and  genius  of  a  man 
who  was  devoted  to  the  development  of  agriculture. 

The  actual  farmers  who  have  followed  the  calling 
nearest  to  Nature  as  a  vocation,  to  which  other  mat- 
ters were  mere  avocations,  have  been  prominent. 

Although  honors  came  to  such  men  as  Hon.  Daniel 
P.  King,  Gen.  Josiah  Newhall  and  Hon.  Asa  Tarbell 
Newhall,  enthusiastic  devotion  to  and  skilled  direction 
of  the  farm  were  paramount  and  sufficient. 

Hon.  Asa  T.  Newhall  is  recorded  as  delivering  the 
address  in  1849,  and  again  in  1884  ;  but  of  course  you 
know  as  well  as  I  that  it  was  not  the  old  Squire  who 
addressed  you  in  the  latter  year,  but  his  grandson  of 
the  same  name  and  inherited  talents,  who  now  makes 
hay  while  the  sun  shines  on  the  home  farm.  Verily, 

223 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  sons  find  it  pleasant  to  tread  the  paths  of  labor 
and  of  honor  in  the  footsteps  of  respected  sires. 

These  are  but  representative  names  in  the  galaxy 
of  Essex  men  who  have  addressed  this  Society. 
Every  address  has  been  carefully  prepared,  and  a 
vast  variety  of  interesting  topics  have  been  discussed. 

A  collection  of  the  whole  would  make  a  valuable 
library  for  an  intelligent  household. 

I  should  shrink  from  being  added  to  this  list  if  I 
did  not  feel  that  the  honor  came  to  me,  not  as  a 
personal  one,  but  as  a  recognition  of  a  family  whose 
successive  generations  have  tilled  the  soil  on  the 
intervales  of  Saugus  River  from  the  planting  of  the 
Colony  to  the  present  day.  Members  of  this  family 
are  active  in  the  councils  of  the  Society,  and  I  am 
grateful  to  be  allowed  to  link  my  name  with  those 
who  have  gone  before  me  as  an  active  member  of 
the  Essex  Agricultural  Society. 

This  Society  is  old  enough  to  have  made  for  itself 
an  enviable  history,  but  Essex  agriculture  had  a 
world-renowned  origin  long  before  the  days  of 
Colonel  Pickering  and  his  worthy  associates.  The 
first  page  of  the  first  volume  of  "  The  Records  of  the 
Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
New  England  "  bears  a  memorandum  supposed  to  be 
in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Washborne,  the  first  Secre- 
tary of  the  Company,  which  is  pregnant  with  and 
significant  of  a  great  event  in  the  world's  history. 
Its  date  is  March  16  (the  year  unknown),  probably 
1628.  If  so,  Endicott  had  not  sailed.  Winthrop 
would  not  depart  for  two  years. 

224 


of  Old  Lynn 

Without  any  verbiage  or  sentimentality  in  a  matter- 
of-fact  paper,  it  reveals  without  the  need  of  comment 
or  concordance  what  the  company  thought  were  prime 
objects  and  necessities  in  the  great  scheme  of  emi- 
gration. 

I  quote  from  the  memorandum  :  - 

To  provide  to  send  for  Newe  England  : 
Ministers ; 
Pattent  vnder  seale ; 
A  seale ; 

Wheate,  rye,  barly,  oates,  a  hhed.  of  ech  in  the  eare  ; 
benes,  pease ; 

Stones  of  all  sorts  of  fruites,  as  peaches,  plums,  fil- 
berts, cherries ; 

Peare,  aple,  quince  kernells,  pomegranats  ; 
Saffron  heads ; 

Liquorice  seed,  rootes  sent ;  &  Madder  rootes  ; 
Potatoes ; 
Hoprootes ; 
Hempseede ; 

Flaxe  seede,  agenst  wynter  ; 
Connys ; 
Currant  plants ; 
Tame  Turkeys ; 

In  that  London  chamber,  with  all  the  signs  ominous 
of  the  Puritan  revolt,  Mathew  Cradock,  Thomas  Goffe, 
Isaac  Johnson,  Sir  Richard  Saltonstall,  John  Humfrey, 
John  Winthrop  and  their  associates,  with  amazing 
shrewdness,  yet  in  Christian  humility,  planned  one 
of  the  epochs  in  the  world's  history. 

First,  of  course,  they  selected  ministers  —  the  spirit- 
ual guides  and  comforters  of  the  flock. 

Secondly,  they  agreed  to  send  over  the  Charter  - 
the  patent  under  seal.     This  instrument  they  regarded 

225 

15 


Hearths  and  Homes 

as  their  "Magna  Charta,"  something  which  was  to 
give  them  powers  of  government  which  Charles  and 
his  advisers  never  dreamed  of  when  it  was  granted. 

Having  provided  for  the  religious  and  civil  govern- 
ment, the  next  consideration  was  to  stock  the  intend- 
ing colony  with  choice  seeds  for  planting  in  the  new 
soil. 

The  list  was  comprehensive— it  embraced  every- 
thing which  was  thought  of  value.  From  it  one  fact 
stands  out  boldly,  namely,  that  the  founders  con- 
templated an  agricultural  and  not  a  commercial 
community.  The  renown  and  wealth  which  came 
later  from  the  fisheries,  from  commerce  and  then 
from  manufactures,  were  not  foreseen. 

The  farmers  have  maintained  the  Canaan  of  the 
fathers,  and,  looking  upon  the  exhibit  of  this  fair, 
may  we  query  if  it  is  not  about  time  for  Essex 
farmers  to  bury  the  silly  question,  Does  farming 
pay?  and  to  ask  instead,  How  many  things  besides 
the  glitter  of  gold  make  it  profitable? 

It  is  time  to  cease  to  bewail  the  hard  lot  of  the 
tillers  of  the  soil.  It  is  in  order  to  tell  the  world 
that  our  fathers  did  not  find  here  a  bleak  and  barren 
land.  There  is  not  a  farmer  in  Essex  County  who 
deserves  success  who  does  not  achieve  it.  Conditions 
change  and  our  farmers  adapt  themselves  to  the  new 
demands.  It  may  be  that  the  great  West  can  pro- 
duce our  well-beloved  Indian  corn  cheaper  than  we 
can  upon  our  smaller  areas,  but  the  compensation 
is  sure  to  be  found  in  less  work  and  more  profit  in 
our  milk,  butter  and  cheese  and  nearness  to  markets. 

226 


of  Old  Lynn 

'The  free  air  of  farm  life  does  not  alone  fill  the 
lungs  with  life-giving  oxygen,  and  harden  the  mus- 
cles ;  it  makes  and  develops  the  brain  that  is  to  guide 
the  affairs  of  men.  Some  time  ago  it  was  the  fashion 
to  apologize  for  Abraham  Lincoln's  lack  of  training. 
Short-sighted  mortals.  All  the  colleges  in  the  world 
could  not  have  so  equipped  him  for  the  peculiar  work 
he  was  raised  up  to  accomplish  as  the  out-of-doors 
frontier  life,  which,  under  the  Divine  plan,  was 
appointed  him. 

Rufus  Choate,  whom,  Peleg  W.  Chandler  in  a 
memorial  address  before  the  Massachusetts  Histori- 
cal Society  styled  "a  glorified  Yankee,"  was  born  on 
Hog  Island  in  our  good  town  of  Essex. 

The  name,  Hog  Island,  is  not  particularly  attrac- 
tive, but  the  spot  itself  is  a  singularly  beautiful  one. 
The  swift  in-pouring  tides  of  the  ocean  rush  by  it  up 
the  Essex  River.  Long  reaches  of  gleaming  sand 
bars  lie  at  its  feet.  The  blue  Atlantic  beats  ever- 
lastingly against  its  rocky  headlands. 

A  plain  old  homestead  with  its  broad  inherited 
acres  on  the  bluff  was  an  ideal  home  for  a  contem- 
plative man,  as  the  farmer,  watching  the  procession 
of  the  seasons,  is  apt  to  be.  The  sense  of  environ- 
ment entered  the  brain  of  the  possessor  of  that  old 
farm  as  he  held  the  plough  or  swung  the  scythe. 
With  such  surroundings,  with  temperate  life,  with 
the  serenity  that  goes  with  the  ownership  of  the  soil, 
man  raises  better  crops  than  grass  or  vegetables, 
better  stock  than  Holsteins  or  Jerseys  ;  he  begets 
children  of  brains.  Of  such  Rufus  Choate  was  a  type. 


Hearths  and  Homes 

And  the  annals  of  the  County  are  resplendent 
with  like  examples  of  boys  and  girls  born  in  the 
low-studded  comfortable  houses  that  antedated  those 
monstrosities  in  a  northern  climate — the  so-called 
Queen  Anne  houses — who  have  gone  forth  to  charm 
the  world  and  tell  whether  or  not  farming  pays. 

The  Puritan  exodus  from  England  to  Massachu- 
setts Bay  was  the  most  wisely  conceived  and  the 
most  grandly  executed  scheme  of  colonization  that 
the  annals  of  the  human  race  relate.  The  van-guard 
of  the  peaceful  army  of  occupation,  which  Endicott 
and  Winthrop  and  Saltonstall  and  Dudley  and  Dum- 
mer  led  into  Essex  County,  was  carefully  made  up 
of  the  flower  of  the  "country  party"  of  England. 
Men  did  not  come  alone.  They  brought  their  wives 
and  children  with  them.  They  were  a  select  class 
of  God-fearing,  thinking  men,  who  made  the  parish 
meeting-house  the  center  of  temporal  as  well  as  of 
spiritual  affairs,  from  which  everything  radiated. 
No  drones  and  no  paupers  were  allowed  to  come. 
The  wise  heads  who  directed  the  movement  sent 
out  the  exact  proportion  of  blacksmiths,  weavers, 
tanners,  millers  and  husbandmen  needed  to  develop 
the  country. 

There  was  no  crowding,  no  reckless  strife  to  reach 
the  goal  of  wealth  at  the  expense  of  one's  fellows. 
When  the  coast  line  became  dotted  with  parishes, 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel  led  a  little  flock  inland  and 
obtained  a  grant  for  a  new  plantation.  Where  else 
could  this  sturdy  stock  have  found  elements  so  adapted 
to  founding  a  new  civilization  and  a  better  home  ? 

828 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  people  who  pity  us  say  that  our  soil  is  rocky  — 
with  swamps  and  forests  —  that  our  climate  is  bleak. 
They  forget  that  Christ  was  born  in  a  cave  in  rocky 
Judea  —  that  the  crags  of  bonny  Scotland  gave  voice 
to  the  genius  of  Robert  Burns  and  Walter  Scott  — 
that  romance,  chivalry  and  prowess  in  all  eras  have 
come  down  out  of  the  hill  countries.  What  would 
have  become  of  the  song  of  our  Whittier  if  he  had 
been  shut  up  inside  city  walls  or  on  a  dull,  endless 
flat  land? 

The  fathers  appreciated  the  woods,  even  if  the 
age  did  people  them  with  demons.  With  the  town 
lot  and  the  tillage  land  each  householder  had  set 
apart  to  him  a  wood  lot.  This  wood  lot  furnished 
materials  to  build  the  house  that  has  sheltered  the 
planter's  children  even  to  this  day.  And  it,  by  the 
kindness  of  Nature,  renews  itself  every  generation, 
so  that  the  same  wood  keeps  his  children's  children 
warm  and  happy,  which  sparkled  and  blazed  in  the 
original  fire-place. 

The  great  salt  marshes  were  awaiting  the  English- 
man's scythe  and  his  cattle,  as  they  have  every  fall 
from  that  day  to  this.  Frost  and  snow  mantled  the 
earth  in  winter,  but  both,  as  we  know,  are  agencies 
under  a  benign  Providence  working  for  the  tiller  of 
the  soil.  The  snow  has  as  necessary  a  place  in  the 
economy  of  Nature  in  the  night  of  the  year,  as  the 
sun,  in  the  day  of  the  year.  Even  the  loose  stones 
in  the  earth,  that  others  would  have  considered 
a  curse,  were  to  our  foreseeing  fathers  a  blessing 
in  disguise.  For  in  the  very  first  generation  the 

229 


Hearths  and  Homes 

yeoman  and  his   boys  constructed   many  miles  of 

the  ugly,  yet  enduring,  stone  walls  that  still  stand 

-  monuments   alike  of  the  thrift  and  grit  of  the 

founders  and  the  loyalty  of  the  sons  of  the  soil. 

Facilities  for  education  are  important  factors  in 
deciding  whether  the  calling  that  is  followed  is 
profitable.  The  mind  must  be  fed  as  well  as  the 
body,  else  one  is  poor  indeed,  though  with  unlimited 
gold.  The  founders  of  Essex  County  brought  with 
the  pastor,  his  colleague,  the  teacher.  Amidst  the 
broadening  influences  of  this  virgin  soil,  the  Puritan 
evolved  the  highest  instrumentality  in  the  growth 
of  man  —  the  common  school.  It  was  not  possible 
under  the  old  world  forms  of  government  and 
thought.  The  mediaeval  ecclesiastic  fears  it  more 
than  all  the  potentates  of  earth  combined,  and 
a  threat  against  it  sounds  the  alarm  which  unites 
all  loyal  Americans.  The  common  school  had  its 
birth  here,  and  here  it  has  flourished  and  is  to-day 
the  model  for  all  enlightened  states. 

In  the  south  gallery  of  the  Manufactures  and 
Liberal  Arts  Building  at  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  hangs  a  map,  which  is  attracting  as 
much  if  not  more  attention  than  any  other  exhibit 
in  the  building.  It  is  a  map  of  immense  proportions 
and  shows  the  number  of  schools  that  each  city  and 
town  in  Massachusetts  has  established  and  is  support- 
ing. People  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  have 
seen  it  and  pronounced  it  the  most  wonderful  exhibit 
yet  produced.  No  other  state  —  in  fact,  no  other 
country  —  can  produce  anything  equal  to  it. 


of  Old  Lynn 

As  early  as  1635,  our  towns  established  schools, 
supporting  them  in  various  ways,  by  subscriptions, 
by  endowments,  by  grants  of  income  from  the  com- 
mon stock  lands,  by  fishing  privileges,  by  tuition 
fees,  by  direct  taxation,  and  they  have  been  steadily 
climbing  to  the  top.  At  no  time  has  the  work  been 
relaxed.  And  now,  Massachusetts  leads  the  world  in 
educational  privileges. 

Of  this  map  the  director  of  education  of  the  State 
of  New  York  is  reported  to  have  said  to  E.  C.  Hovey, 
Chairman  of  the  Massachusetts  World's  Fair  Com- 
mission :  "  If  New  York  State  could  show  a  map 
such  as  that  I  would  be  willing  to  throw  our  entire 
exhibit  into  Lake  Michigan.  There  is  nothing  which 
equals  it." 

George  H.  Martin's  descriptive  account  of  our 
schools  accompanying  the  map  shows  that  from  its 
beginning  the  State  has  had  a  complete  system  of 
public  elementary  schools,  secondary  schools,  and  the 
college.  The  second  century  of  the  educational  his- 
tory of  the  State  is  marked  by  an  effort  to  adapt  the 
school  system  to  the  needs  of  a  widely  scattered  agri- 
cultural population.  On  this  map  our  County  stands 
second  to  none  among  the  Counties  of  the  State. 

When  you  think  of  the  great  farms  of  the  northwest 
and  are  inclined  to  repine  because  you  cannot  make 
such  haste  to  get  rich,  look  upon  the  other  side  of  the 
shield.  Set  your  schools  against  the  hordes  of  foreign 
immigrants,  who,  in  some  of  the  farming  states  are 
controlling  legislation  against  teaching  English  and 
against  the  existence  of  the  common  school  itself. 

231 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Your  children's  priceless  privileges  weigh  down  the 
scale  of  advantages  solidly  upon  your  side. 

Of  the  foundation  of  these  schools,  Lord  Macaulay 
once  said  in  parliament :  — 

"Illustrious  forever  in  history  were  the  founders 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts ;  though 
their  love  of  freedom  of  conscience  was  illimitable 
and  indestructible,  they  could  see  nothing  servile 
or  degrading  in  the  principle  that  the  State  should 
take  upon  itself  the  charge  of  the  education  of 
the  people.  In  the  year  1642,  they  passed  their 
first  legislative  enactment  on  this  subject,  in  the 
preamble  of  which  they  distinctly  pledged  them- 
selves to  this  principle,  that  education  was  a  matter 
of  the  deepest  possible  importance  and  the  greatest 
possible  interest  to  all  nations  and  to  all  communi- 
ties, and  that  as  such  it  was,  in  an  eminent  degree, 
deserving  of  the  peculiar  attention  of  the  State." 

The  matter  of  race  has  much  to  do  with  success 
in  farming.  Down  to  the  Revolution,  the  people 
of  New  England  were,  almost  without  exception,  of 
pure  English  blood.  The  same  statement  is  nearly 
as  true  to-day  of  the  farmers  of  Essex  County.  As 
distinctive  as  the  worship  of  the  crocodile  by  the 
dwellers  on  the  Nile,  or  the  adoration  of  the  god 
of  war  by  the  Romans,  has  ever  been  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  reverence  for  land. 

With  love  of  the  land  there  is  also  associated 
regard  and  veneration  for  trees.  It  is  true  that 
the  fathers  waged  war  upon  the  forests,  but  that 
was  a  necessity  of  their  situation.  They  wanted 
the  sunshine  to  warm  their  virgin  soil.  They  needed 

232 


of  Old  Lynn 

the  wood  for  fuel,  for  rafters,  sills  and  boards. 
Besides  the  requirement  of  cleared  lands  for  culti- 
vation, there  was  ever  the  thought  that  the  clearings 
made  so  many  less  lurking  places  for  the  skulking 
red  Indian,  who  was  always  a  peril  in  the  shadows 
of  the  forest. 

So  far  as  we  may  properly  go  without  being 
charged  with  the  sin  of  idolatry,  we  Americans  are 
tree  worshipers.  It  is  perfectly  natural  for  us  to 
be  so.  It  is  bred  in  our  bone.  It  is  an  inheritance 
from  our  English  ancestors.  The  Romans,  who  made 
a  strong  impression  on  the  native  tribes  of  England, 
venerated  trees,  erected  temples  in  their  groves  and 
ordained  sacrifices  in  their  honor.  The  Druids  lived 
in  them,  as  it  was  thought  more  sacred  to  dwell 
under  trees  and  about  their  rock  altars  than  in  the 
open  plains. 

Trees  are  our  most  striking  evidence  in  material 
things  of  our  immortal  life.  We  plant  them  and 
they  live  on  far  beyond  our  lives.  In  planting  them 
we  think  not  so  much  of  ourselves  as  of  the  future 
generations.  The  myriad  voices  of  the  trees  speak 
to  us  in  the  same  tones  that  they  did  to  our  fathers 
in  the  past  and  as  they  will  to  our  children  in  future 
ages. 

The  magnificent  Waverly  oaks  were  mature  trees 
when  the  keel  of  the  Mayflower  touched  the  gleam- 
ing sands  of  Plymouth  Harbor.  The  south  wind 
played  the  same  soothing  melodies  through  their 
branches  then  as  now,  though  the  Indian,  whose 
moccasins  noiselessly  trod  the  sward  at  their  feet, 

233 


Hearths  and  Homes 

has  vanished  from  the  face  of  the  earth  and  the 
humble  Pilgrim  from  Leyden  has  inspired  and 
created  the  greatest  nation  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  old  trees  saw  the  red  man  and  the  Englishman 
play  their  parts  and  are  still  sturdy  —  as  well  they 
need  be  —  while  they  listen  to  the  polyglot  tongues 
that  now  babble  around  them. 

Seasons  come  and  go,  leaves  ripen  and  fall,  buds 
unfold  into  leaf  and  blossom,  but  the  tree  grows  on 
and  on  and  recks  not  that  the  white-headed  old  man 
who  thoughtfully  reposes  in  its  shade  is  the  same 
person  who  sported  beneath  its  limbs  in  childhood's 
merry  hours. 

In  the  good  work  of  quickening  an  interest  in 
forestry,  this  Society  has  held  an  advanced  position, 
and  among  individuals  interested,  its  present  Presi- 
dent l  is  easily  leader. 

Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  the  greatest  story  teller  of 
New  England  lore,  tenderly  related  his  journey  ings 
in  "Our  Old  Home."  Do  we  realize  that  while  old 
England  is  the  old  home  to  those  of  the  stock  who 
have  remained  hereabouts,  there  is  a  vastly  greater 
company  of  the  descendants  of  people  of  New  England 
birth  who  have  found  new  homes  in  the  great  West, 
even  to  the  Golden  Gate  on  the  Pacific  ?  To  all  these 
millions,  Massachusetts  and  Essex  County  are  the  old 
home.  The  standard  elms  and  the  south-facing,  long, 
sloping,  back-roofed  houses  with  the  great  stack  of 
chimneys  in  the  centre,  to  all  these  people  are  home 
and  history  and  the  starting  point  of  family  lines. 

1  General  Francis  H.  Appleton. 

234 


of  Old  Lynn 

Over  in  Quincy,  in  such  houses  as  are  identical  in 
form  and  construction  and  surroundings  with  hun- 
dreds in  Essex  County,  the  two  Presidents  of  the 
United  States,  of  Massachusetts  birth,  were  born. 

In  Danvers,  the  room  in  which  Israel  Putnam  was 
born  is  kept  just  as  it  was  when  the  tough  old  ranger 
first  saw  the  light.  The  whole  County  is  dotted 
with  these  old  earth-hugging  houses  upon  which  the 
storms  of  bleak  winters  have  beaten,  in  vain,  for 
centuries. 

To-day  at  Chicago  nothing  wins  more  praise  and 
admiration  than  the  John  Hancock  house,  and  it  is 
said  that  the  Colonial  exhibit  in  the  Massachusetts 
department  exceeds  in  interest  anything  of  the  kind 
in  the  Fair,  and  that  the  old  bureaus,  the  old  bed- 
steads, and  the  models  of  the  old  houses  to  be  found 
there  have  a  grace  and  beauty  in  point  of  size,  and 
model,  and  execution,  that  is  not  reached  in  the 
greater  part  of  our  modern  furniture  or  our  modern 
dwellings. 

These  houses  are  to  be  found  along  the  New  Eng- 
land coast  from  Portsmouth,  Rhode  Island,  to  Wells, 
in  Maine.  But  there  are  more  of  them  in  Essex 
County  than  anywhere  else,  more  even  than  in  Ply- 
mouth or  Middlesex.  They  are  historic  houses  of 
America,  and,  as  a  well-known  writer  says,  they 
express  both  the  English  freedom  of  the  seventeenth 
century  and  the  regard  for  comfort  and  security 
and  strength  which  our  New  England  fathers  were 
obliged  to  consider  when  they  built  homes  of  their 
own. 

235 


They  were  wisely  built  by  men  who  knew  the  cli- 
mate and  by  men  who  were  founding  families.  They 
overlooked  the  broad  acres  which  their  builders  had 
redeemed  from  the  wilderness.  Square,  prim  and 
strong,  admirably  adapted  to  the  age  in  which  they 
were  built,  time  has  mellowed  their  surroundings  and 
made  them  one  and  all  picturesque  and  important 
adjuncts  in  every  hamlet  in  the  County.  Every 
one  is  full  of  the  traditions  and  history  of  its  long 
departed  occupants  and  of  the  people. 

From  the  windows  of  that  house  a  child  saw  the 
gray-stockinged  young  farmers  from  Danvers  tarry 
for  a  drink  from  the  bucket  in  the  well  on  the  fateful 
morning  of  the  19th  of  April,  1775.  The  child  look- 
ing from  the  windows  saw  upon  the  return  from 
Lexington  a  sad  sight  for  youthful  eyes  and  for  the 
mourners,  though  Liberty  on  that  day  was  born.  The 
child  saw  the  gray-stockinged  forms  cold  in  death  as 
the  rumbling  wagons  bore  their  sacred  burdens  back 
to  wailing  families.  That  child  never  forgot  the 
scene,  and  in  old  age  used  to  tell  the  story  to  younger 
people,  and  he 1  who  heard  it  from  her  lips  was  him- 
self an  old  man  when  he  related  it  to  me. 

Scenes  a  hundred  years  prior  to  Lexington  have 
these  old  houses  seen.  Upon  the  bank  of  the  North 
River,  in  the  midst  of  the  sloping  fields,  where  to-day 
the  September  sun  is  ripening  farmer  Jacobs'  crops, 
stands  the  substantial  house  with  the  surroundings 
practically  as  they  were  when  its  master,  George 

1  Hon.  Samuel  M.  Bubier. 

236 


THE  FLAGG-GRAY  HOUSE, 

Marion  Street,  south  of  Boston  Street,  birthplace  of  Lieutenant-Governor  William  Gray, 

about  to  be  torn  down  by  a  syndicate  of  Hebrews,  who  have 

purchased  it,  to  be  replaced  by  tenement  houses. 


of  Old  Lynn 

Jacobs  —  Saint  George  of  old  Northfields  as  we  call 
him  now  —  was  led  away  for  shameful  death  in  the 
dark  days  of  the  witchcraft  troubles  in  1692. 

Here  in  Haverhill  your  late  public-spirited  fellow- 
citizen,  James  H.  Carleton,  did  a  characteristic  and 
noble  deed,  when,  in  his  life-time  —  not  making  it  an 
after-death  benefaction  —  he  secured  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  birth-place  of  the  sweet  poet  whose 
rhymed  lines  are  in  closest  touch  with  the  finest 
expression  of  New  England  life.  Whittier  is  the 
immortal  flower  of  rural  New  England.  Mr.  Carleton 
has  made  this  plain  farm-house  the  Mecca  towards 
which  throngs  of  lovers  of  the  poet  will  be  drawn 
and  say  with  him :  — 

"Nor  farm-house  with  its  maple  shade, 
Or  rigid  poplar  colonnade, 
But  lies  distinct  and  full  in  sight, 
Beneath  this  gush  of  sunset  light." 

The  builders  of  these  houses  were  brothers  to  the 
regicides  across  the  sea.  They  were  Commonwealth 
men.  They  were  the  advanced  liberals  of  the  age. 
They,  at  home,  had  dreamed  of  establishing  beyond 
the  ocean  a  greater  England,  freed  from  feudalism, 
prelacy  and  kingcraft.  While  they  were  setting  up 
their  Puritan  theocracy,  growing  attached  to  the 
new  homes,  the  experiment  of  the  Commonwealth 
was  tried  in  England  and  wras  lost  when  the  great 
Cromwell  died. 

The  profligate  reign  of  Charles  the  Second  and  the 
bigoted  reign  of  James  the  Second,  were  followed  by 

237 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  great  Revolution  of  1689,  which  brought  in  the 
Dutch  William.  And  then  came  the  day  of  the 
intriguing  and  venal  place  hunters  of  the  reign  of 
Anne. 

The  Protestant  Revolution  of  1689,  did  well  enough 
for  conservative  England,  but  the  more  radical  Bay 
Colony  had  learned  to  walk  alone.  It  wanted  no 
Queen  Anne  houses  with  chimneys  on  the  outside. 
These  were  adapted  to  negro  quarters  in  the  sunny 
South,  but  not  for  our  north  country.  An  American 
architecture  had  been  evolved.  American  thought 
had  been  created,  and  from  then  on,  our  fathers 
planned  for  emancipation  from  the  political  yoke. 

Let  us  not  learn  from  strangers  to  appreciate  the 
historic  value  nor  the  substantial  use  of  the  stout 
houses  that  are  gems  set  in  the  grassy  lanes  of  old 
Essex,  but  let  us  so  care  for  them  as  to  make  them 
still  more  attractive  to  the  wanderer  who  returns  to 
the  home  of  his  people. 

It  is  almost  striking  to  observe  the  traits  and 
features  of  one  generation  repeated  in  its  successors 
in  a  locality  where  the  people  have  become  fixed  in 
their  habits  and  are  acclimated  to  their  surroundings. 
Such  resemblances  are  striking  in  English  counties, 
in  France,  and  in  other  localities  where  man  and  the 
climate  and  the  soil  harmonize.  These  conditions 
seem  to  be  fast  attached  to  our  County.  If  the  art 
of  photography  had  existed  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, the  portrait  of  the  first  settler  of  what  is  now 
Middleton  would  have  been  a  good  likeness  of  the 
thrifty  farmer  of  Middleton  who  took  prizes  for  his 


of  Old  Lynn 

stock  at  recent  cattle  shows.  The  same  rule  holds 
throughout  the  County.  The  same  names  prosper 
upon  the  same  acres.  They  are  still  the  deacons 
and  selectmen  and  possessors  of  fat  pocket-books, 
filled  by  working  brains  into  the  ancestral  —  rough 
it  may  be  —  but  loved  acres. 

The  Charter  granted  the  land  to  the  Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England  in  fee.  The 
Colony  gave  the  same  kind  of  title  to  towns,  com- 
moners and  individuals,  free  from  Old  World  services 
and  limitations. 

Out  of  this  absolute  holding  of  land  grew  an 
independent  yeomanry,  which  in  the  fulness  of 
time  stormed  Louisburg,  the  Gibraltar  of  France  in 
America,  and  a  generation  later  defied  England's 
power  on  Bunker  Hill. 

Such  men  —  the  men  of  the  town  meeting  —  the 
men  who  made  America  the  shining  example  of 
human  development  —  came  from  the  stock  of  owners 
and  tillers  of  the  soil. 

A  peasantry  never  accomplished  such  results.  A 
peasantry  may  tear  down,  but  never  build  up.  Wher- 
ever man  owns  his  farm,  his  garden,  or  his  house,  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  modern  Nationalism  —  the  scheme 
of  having  a  paternal  government  own  everything 
and  regulate  every  man's  labor,  will  not  be  popular. 
Such  doctrines  will  scarcely  take  root  in  Essex  County. 

The  general  holding  of  farms  in  this  County  for 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  in  family  line,  in  fee 
simple,  without  any  laws  against  alienation,  is  some- 
thing without  parallel  in  human  history.  Six  cities 

239 


Hearths  and  Homes 

have  grown  up  (with  a  seventh  about  to  assume  the 
civic  gown)  without  materially  taking  from  our  arable 
territory.  No  land  titles  in  the  world  stand  upon  so 
just  a  base.  We  care  nothing  for  the  original  grant 
from  the  King  of  England.  The  settlement  was 
made  at  just  that  period,  when  under  the  plan  of 
the  Creator,  this  portion  of  the  earth  was  appointed 
for  the  occupation  of  a  new  race.  Pestilence  and 
war  had  swept  away  the  once  numerous  tribes  of 
red  men,  so  that  only  a  scattered  remnant  remained. 
Whatever  rights  they  had  in  the  earth,  sky  and 
water,  in  the  prolix  phraseology  of  the  period,  they 
willingly  conveyed  to  our  shrewd  ancestors.  Thus 
all  the  lands  are  held  by  a  triple  title  —  first,  the 
royal  grant,  second,  the  town  grant,  and  third,  the 
Indian  release. 

Since  that  time  neither  pestilence,  earthquake, 
cyclone,  famine,  nor  war,  has  devastated  our  domain. 
To-day  the  only  danger  that  threatens  the  stone- 
fenced  ancient  farms  is  found  in  the  incursion  of 
cultured,  but  jaded  city  men,  who  have  discovered 
the  charms  of  rural  life  and  seek  to  dispossess  after 
the  manner  of  Alexander  of  Macedon,  who  said,  "I 
despair  of  taking  no  city  into  which  I  can  introduce 
a  mule  laden  with  gold."  Such  taking  may  not  be 
unwelcome  to  some,  but  it  will  be  in  the  far  future 
when  the  Yankee  farmer  yields  up  his  supremacy 
amidst  the  hills,  dales  and  intervales  of  old  Essex. 

Washington  Irving  has  painted  with  loving  minute- 
ness the  master  of  Bracebridge  Hall :  - 


240 


of  Old  Lynn 


His  certain  life,  that  never  can  deceive  him, 
Is  full  of  thousand  sweets,  and  rich  content ; 

The  smooth-leaved  beeches  in  the  field  receive  him 
With  coolest  shade,  till  noontide's  heat  be  spent. 

His  life  is  neither  tost  in  boisterous  seas 
Or  the  vexatious  world  ;  or  lost  in  slothful  ease. 

Pleased  and  full  blessed  he  lives,  when  he  his  God  can  please." 


The  genial  squire  lives  in  real  life  in  every  hamlet 
in  this  picturesque  region  of  ours,  from  the  serpen- 
tine Saugus  to  the  majestic  Merrimac. 

The  farmers  of  Essex  are  not  forced  to  lead  isolated 
lives,  as  is  the  case  in  most  rural  districts.  The 
steam  railroad  penetrates  every  town  in  the  County, 
save  Nahant,  and  the  people  there  much  prefer  to 
be  without  the  luxury. 

In  the  near  future  the  electric  car,  both  for  freight 
and  passengers,  will  stop  at  every  farm-house.  This 
is  not  a  Utopian  dream,  but  a  practical  scheme, 
which  the  "  Engineering  Magazine  "  is  strongly  urg- 
ing and  which  is  already,  so  far  as  passengers  are 
concerned,  in  actual  operation  in  many  towns ;  and 
on  one  line,  at  least,  freight  cars  run. 

The  constant  passing  of  cars  over  city  pavements 
between  brick  walls  is  not  an  unmixed  blessing,  but 
stated  trips  of  such  cars  will  be  a  great  benefit  to 
the  farmer  and  his  family,  especially  in  those  seasons 
of  the  year  when  country  roads  —  even  the  best  — 
are  liable  to  be  muddy  and  not  comfortable  for 
ordinary  locomotion. 

Besides  the  economical  uses  of  these  cars,  they 
will  facilitate  the  enjoyment  of  another  institution 

•241 


16 


Hearths  and  Homes 

in  which  Massachusetts  stands  in  the  van  —  the 
public  library  system. 

"  Of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end,"  but  the 
public  library  is  one  of  the  marvels  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Public  schools  and  newspapers  have  made 
readers  of  all,  but  no  individual  can  expect  to  own, 
or  if  he  did  own,  could  furnish  shelf-room  for  all  the 
books  he  may  desire  to  read.  The  public  library 
selects,  houses,  cares  for  and  distributes  the  printed 
treasures  of  the  thought  of  the  world  in  every  town 
to  every  family. 

As  many  books  are  accessible  to  the  village  maiden 
to-day  as  the  scholars  of  the  universities  had  at  their 
command  a  few  years  ago. 

Yes !  Thoreau  was  right.  It  was  fortunate  for 
us  that  our  fathers  made  their  landfall  upon  this 
coast  of  sandbars  and  rocky  headlands  —  upon  this 
land  of  marsh  and  wooded  hillside  —  this  region  with 
frost  enough  in  the  atmosphere  to  make  man  work 
for  his  bread  with  muscle  and  brain  —  this  land  now 
teeming  with  folk-lore  of  a  plain,  God-fearing  yeo- 
manry —  this  favored  home  of  the  free  common 
school  and  the  free  public  library. 

They  found  here  a  soil  that  with  industry  would 
reward  labor  —  they  found  a  land  full  of  noble 
trees  and  charming  wild  flowers  —  they  built  homely 
houses,  which  they  have  bequeathed  to  us  with  their 
records  of  well-spent  and  often  heroic  lives. 

While  there  is  a  pride  that  dwells  too  much  upon 
the  past,  yet  there  is  much  that  has  come  down  with 
the  heirlooms  that  is  worthy  of  our  emulation.  While 


of  Old  Lynn 

we  employ  all  new  inventions  that  lessen  labor  in  our 
chosen  callings,  we  may  ponder  with  profit  upon  the 
lives  of  our  ancestors,  who,  with  lesser  means  and 
with  ruder  implements  made  their  lives  successful 
and  their  influence  salutary  upon  those  who  followed 
them. 

These  thoughts  are  trite,  but  when  we  observe  the 
mad  rush  of  life  in  cities,  hearts  broken  and  lives 
wrecked  in  the  constant  reverses  of  business,  it  is 
meet  for  the  farmer  to  reflect  upon  his  life  so  near 
to  nature,  so  near  to  the  things  which  were  dear  to 
his  kin,  so  free  from  the  corrosion  of  all  other  pur- 
suits. 


LYNNFIELD   IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


ESPITE  of  the  libraries  of  argument  and  un- 
ceasing floods  of  rhetoric  which  the  events 
of  April  19,  1775,  have  produced  or  perhaps 
rather  by  virtue  of  the  same,  the  immediate  wrongs 
of  which  our  fathers  complained  were  not  in  them- 
selves adequate  to  explain  the  great  uprising  which 
was  coolly  planned  and  to  which  the  match  was 
applied  by  the  march  of  the  British  regulars  to  Con- 
cord. The  initial  grievance  was  far  back  of  the 
vexatious  taxing  of  the  Colonists  by  the  English 
Ministry  and  Parliament.  The  roots  of  the  tree  of 
freedom  were  planted  in  New  England  when  Win- 
throp  brought  the  Charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colony  to  the  new  world.  The  tree  was  tended  and 
nourished  in  hardship  and  blood. 

Judge  Mellen  Chamberlain  once  told  of  an  inter- 
view with  a  veteran  of  the  Lexington  fight,  which 
I  have  long  thought  a  significant  utterance  of  a  plain 
man  of  the  people,  Capt.  Levi  Preston,  of  Danvers. 
Judge  Chamberlain  said  :  - 

"  When  I  was  about  twenty-one,  and  Captain  Pres- 
ton about  ninety-one,  I  interviewed  him  in  his  own 
home  as  to  what  he  did  and  thought  sixty-seven 
years  before,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  and  now 

1  An  address  delivered  in  Lynnfield  Town  Hall,  June  17,  1905. 

245 


Hearths  and  Homes 

fifty-two  years  later,  I  make  my  report,  a  little 
belated,  perhaps,  but  I  trust  not  too  late  for  the 
morning  papers.  With  an  assurance  passing  even 
that  of  the  modern  interviewer,  I  began  :  - 

" '  Captain  Preston,  what  made  you  go  to  the  Con- 
cord fight?' 

"The  old  man,  bowed  with  the  weight  of  fourscore 
years  and  ten,  raised  himself  upright,  and  turning  to 
me  said  :  —  '  What  did  I  go  for  ? ' 

"  '  Yes/  I  replied.  '  My  histories  all  tell  me  you 
men  of  the  Revolution  took  up  arms  against  intol- 
erable oppression.  What  was  it  ? ' 

" '  Oppression  ?    I  did  n't  feel  any  that  I  know  of.' 

" '  Were  you  not  oppressed  by  the  Stamp  Act  ? ' 

" '  I  never  saw  any  stamps,  and  I  always  understood 
that  none  were  ever  sold.' 

"  '  Well,  what  about  the  tea  tax  ? ' 

"'Tea  tax?  I  never  drank  a  drop  of  the  stuff; 
the  boys  threw  it  all  overboard.' 

"  '  But  I  suppose  you  had  been  reading  Harrington, 
Sidney  and  Locke  about  the  eternal  principles  of 
liberty?' 

" '  I  never  heard  of  those  men.  The  only  books  we 
had  were  the  Bible,  the  catechism,  Watts'  psalms  and 
hymns,  and  the  almanac.' 

" '  Well,  then,  what  was  the  matter  ? ' 

" '  Young  man,  what  we  meant  in  fighting  the  British 
was  this  :  We  always  had  been  free  and  we  meant 
to  be  free  always.' ' 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  when  the  storm  of  the  Revo- 
lution burst  upon  this  rural  hamlet,  every  roof -tree 

240 


of  Old  Lynn 

that  sheltered  the  fathers  and  sons  was  their  own, 
earned  by  brawn  and  brain.  Perhaps  they  could 
not  scan  and  measure  the  full  scope  of  their  deeds, 
nor  the  wonderful  results  that  were  to  come  from 
their  actions,  but  like  Levi  Preston,  they  always  had 
been  free  and  they  dared  all  to  maintain  that  free- 
dom. Prior  to  armed  resistance  to  the  day  when 
Major  John  Buttrick  "  fired  the  shot  heard  around 
the  world,"  the  Provincial  Congress  had  been  making 
ready  for  the  impending  conflict. 

Among  other  duties  it  had  seen  to  it  that  Tories 
were  weeded  out  of  the  militia.  After  the  purging 
process  you  may  find  upon  your  records  this  signifi- 
cant entry :  - 

"Agreeably  to  the  advice  of  the  respectable  Pro- 
vincial Congress,  the  training  band  company  of  Lynn, 
North  Parish,  being  a  part  of  the  first  regiment  in 
the  County  of  Essex,  formerly  commanded  by  Wil- 
liam Brown,  politically  deceased  by  a  pestilential  and 
mortal  disorder,  and  now  buried  in  the  ignominious 
ruins  at  Boston,  met  on  Monday,  November  15,  and 
after  choosing  Deacon  Nathaniel  Bancroft  as  their 
Chairman,  elected  Joseph  Gowing,  Captain  ;  Nathaniel 
Sherman,  First  Lieutenant,  and  John  Perkins,  Ensign." 

When  the  War  of  the  Revolution  came  —  the  war 
for  the  independence  of  America  from  Kingcraft 
as  well  as  priestcraft  —  for  which  the  fathers  had 
looked,  worked  and  prayed  —  Lynnfield  had  long  been 
for  all  practical  purposes  a  separate  town. 

When  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  dawned,  it  was 
known  in  the  old  North  Parish,  in  the  district 

247 


Hearths  and  Homes 

of  Lynnfield,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  Essex  and 
Middlesex. 

The  mortal  remains  of  a  night  rider,  who  aided 
Paul  Revere  in  spreading  the  alarm  that  Lord  Percy 
was  to  march,  rest  in  your  God's  acre. 

Dr.  Martin  Herrick,  though  he  lived  in  the  little 
villages  of  Reading  and  Lynnfield,  was  a  noted  man, 
and  a  participant  in  stirring  times. 

Captain  Bancroft's  Company  was  ready  to  march 
when  Herrick's  panting  steed  clattered  up  to  Gow- 
ing's  Tavern.  Later,  the  doctor  became  a  surgeon  in 
the  Continental  service. 

In  the  momentous  happenings  of  one  of  the  myste- 
rious cycle  days  of  New  England,  the  sons  of  Lynnfield 
took  sturdy  and  gallant  part,  and  the  blood  of  its 
slain  sons  reddening  the  sod  of  Menotomy  made  the 
Concord  and  Lexington  country  classic  and  hallowed 
ground  for  patriotic  Americans  forever. 

Right  here  it  may  be  said  that  Daniel  Townsend 
was  the  only  one  of  the  sons  of  ancient  Lynn  slain 
on  that  day,  who  found  a  burial  place  among  his  kin. 
The  others  who  fell  were  placed  in  the  burial  ground 
at  Menotomy  as  unknown  dead. 

Among  those  humble  martyrs  were  William  Flint 
and  Thomas  Hadley.  These  two  men  lived  in  the 
southern  part  of  Lynnfield,  and  were  enrolled  and 
served  with  Captain  David  Parker's  Saugus  company 
upon  the  great  day  in  which  they  laid  down  their 
lives. 

The  discovery  of  the  grave  of  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  gave  to  Howard  K.  Sanderson  a  pleasure  that 


of  Old  Lynn 

rivaled  the  intense  satisfaction  which  rewarded  the 
great  botanist  when  his  quest  chanced  upon  a  new 
orchid.  The  many  hours  and  days  that  he  toiled  in 
the  moss-grown  burial  grounds  of  Lynnfield,  Saugus 
and  Lynn,  and  in  the  old  homes  of  the  people  are 
unknown  to  but  few. 

That  he  is  not  here  to-day  with  his  rich  stories  of 
Revolutionary  history  is  your  misfortune  and  mine  - 
that  the  inspiring  eloquence  of  that  enthusiastic  stu- 
dent of  the  history-making  epoch  is  lacking  on  this 
occasion  is  one  of  the  inscrutable  ways  of  an  over- 
ruling Providence. 

There  is  an  old  English  word  that  applies  to  the 
labor  of  Howard  K.  Sanderson  in  the  search  for 
materials  bearing  upon  our  Revolutionary  life.  It 
is  "prodigious." 

So  far  as  Lynnfield  is  concerned,  all  that  is  known 
of  individuals  is  typewritten  and  ready  for  the 
printer.  I  have  only  presumed  to  use  one  sketch, 
and  that  because  he  had  such  a  loving  tenderness 
for  the  memory  of  the  man  whose  name  at  his 
suggestion  was  given  to  our  junior  chapter  of  the 
Sons  and  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  :  - 

Daniel  Townsend,  Private,  son  of  Deacon  Daniel  and 
Mary  (Hutchinson)  Townsend,  was  born  on  the  so-called 
"Needham  Place"  in  Lynnfield  Centre,  October  16, 
1738.  In  many  respects  his  name  is  probably  the 
best  known  of  any  connected  with  Lynn  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  His  biography  is  one  of 
the  very  few  published ;  his  services  have  been  the 
subject  of  many  patriotic  allusions,  and  his  grave 

249 


Hearths  and  Homes 

has  been  pointed  out  for  one  hundred  and  thirty 
years  as  that  of  a  martyr  in  the  cause  of  liberty. 

He  was  one  of  a  large  family  of  children,  among 
whom  was  his  brother  Thomas,  with  whom  he  was 
closely  associated.  He  was  married  in  Reading, 
January  24,  1764,  to  Zerviah  Upton,  of  Reading, 
born  1744,  daughter  of  John  Upton.  They  began 
life  in  the  house  which  stood  at  the  junction  of  the 
roads  below  Filling's  Pond,  about  one  mile  south  of 
Lynnfield  Centre.  It  was  owned  at  the  time  by 
Samuel  Orne,  and  was  struck  by  lightning  and 
burned  in  1899.  June  30,  1771,  he  and  his  wife, 
Zerviah,  owned  the  covenant  and  joined  the  Second 
Parish  Church.  July  7,  his  children,  John  and  Daniel, 
were  baptized ;  August  4,  Jacob ;  August  29,  1773, 
Zerviah,  and  January  15, 1775,  Lydia.  Mr.  Townsend 
took  but  little  part  in  town  affairs,  serving  only  as 
Warden  in  1771  and  Assessor  in  1775.  He  early 
joined  the  Minute  Men  of  the  Parish,  and  with  his 
brother  Thomas,  who  was  a  Lieutenant,  marched  to 
Menotomy,  where  they  met  the  British  on  the  retreat 
to  Boston,  April  19,  1775.  The  story  of  his  tragic 
death  on  that  day  is  as  follows :  At  five  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  he  found  himself  between  the  flank 
guard  and  main  line  of  the  British  army,  at  the 
house  of  Jason  Russell,  at  Menotomy.  He  made  a 
brave  eifort  to  escape,  but  fell  riddled  with  bullets. 
From  the  best  information  obtainable,  it  appears  that 
his  neighbors  carried  his  body  home  that  night,  arriv- 
ing during  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  The 
unusual  commotion  in  the  road,  the  confused  voices 

250 


of  Old  Lynn 

of  men,  and  the  moving  about  of  lanterns  in  the 
yard,  betokened  to  Mrs.  Townsend  that  something 
unusual  had  taken  place.  When  the  news  was  broken 
to  her,  she  was  overwhelmed  and  never  recovered, 
she  being  left  helpless  with  five  small  children,  the 
youngest  but  six  months  old.  Mr.  Townsend's 
remains  were  tenderly  laid  in  the  best  room  of  the 
old  house  and  a  portion  of  his  neighbors  remained  as 
a  sort  of  yeoman  guard  of  honor.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  funeral  was  held  in  the  Second  Parish 
Church,  and  that  Rev.  Benjamin  Adams  preached 
the  funeral  sermon.  His  remains  were  borne  just 
across  the  way  where  they  were  interred  in  the 
village  cemetery,  the  entire  town  attending  the 
funeral.  The  church  records  bear  this  simple  and 
quaint  entry:  "Ap.  19,  1775,  died  Dan'l  Townsend 
in  a  battle  with  the  Regulars :  He  was  shot  down 
dead  in  a  moment,  in  ye  36th  year  of  his  age." 
The  Essex  Gazette  of  May  2,  1775,  says  :  "  He  was 
a  constant  and  ready  friend  to  the  poor  and  afflicted  ; 
a  good  adviser  in  cases  of  difficulty  ;  a  mild  and  sin- 
cere reprover.  In  short,  he  was  a  friend  to  his 
country,  a  blessing  to  society  and  an  ornament  to 
the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member." 

Mrs.  Townsend  soon  followed  him  to  the  grave, 
dying  October  19,  aged  thirty-one.  The  only  allusion 
to  him  in  the  precinct  records  is  on  November  22, 
when  William  Richardson  was  chosen  Assessor  in 
his  stead.  The  grave  of  Mr.  Townsend  is  appro- 
priately marked  by  a  black  slate  stone,  which  faces 
the  highway  and  the  old  church  on  the  green.  The 

251 


Hearths  and  Homes 

inscription  is  :  "  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Daniel 
Townsend,  who  was  slain  at  the  Battle  of  Lexington, 
April  19,  1775,  aged  36. 

"  Lie,  valient  Townsend,  in  the  peaceful  shades;  we  trust, 
Immortal  honors  mingle  with  thy  dust. 
What  though  thy  body  struggled  in  thy  gore  ? 
So  did  thy  Saviour's  body,  long  before; 
And  as  He  raised  His  own,  by  power  divine, 
So  the  same  power  shall  also  quicken  thine, 
And  in  eternal  glory  mayst  thou  shine." 

Mrs.  Townsend's  gravestone  bears  this  inscription  : 
"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Zerviah  Townsend, 
relict  of  Mr.  Daniel  Townsend,  who  died  Oct.  19, 
1775,  aged  31. 

"  Death  has  my  life  swept  away, 

To  follow  my  companion  dear; 
But  Christ  can  bear  my  soul  away, 
And  land  it  on  the  heavenly  shore. ' ' 

Mr.  Townsend  died  intestate,  his  brother  Thomas 
being  appointed  administrator,  while  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Bancroft  was  one  of  the  appraisers.  John  Berry  and 
Jesse  Wellman  were  probably  in  his  employ  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  Tradition  has  always  connected 
the  name  of  the  former  with  the  bringing  home  of 
Mr.  Townsend's  body. 

The  Legislature  later  granted  to  his  heirs  the  sum 
£2  14s.  for  losses  sustained  by  him  in  the  battle. 
Before  the  war,  Mr.  Townsend  had  loaned  the  town 
money,  but  his  heirs  received  pay  only  in  depreciated 
Continental  currency.  There  are  many  of  his  descend- 
ants still  living  in  Lynn,  among  them  being  three 


of  Old  Lynn 

grandchildren,  Mrs.  Henry  H.  Breed,  Mrs.  William  P. 
Conway  and  Mrs.  Eliza  M.  Atkinson.  The  musket 
which  he  carried  on  the  19th  of  April,  is  still  in  the 
possession  of  William  H.  Townsend,  of  this  city. 

A  bronze  marker  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution  has  been  placed  at  Daniel  Townsend's 
grave,  and  the  American  flag,  fashioned  and  woven 
since  his  death,  now  floats  over  the  hero's  grave,  in 
the  quiet  little  town  in  which  he  was  born  and  where 
his  life  was  spent. 

Another  individual  sketch  will  be  given,  since  the 
person  was  responsible  as  my  great-grandfather  for 
my  privilege  to  appear  here  as  a  native  of  this  town. 
Another  great-grandfather  of  mine,  Nathan  Hawkes, 
who  was  in  the  Lexington  fight,  as  Ensign  of  Capt. 
David  Parker's  Saugus  company,  had  a  son  born  in 
the  great  year,  (1775)  who,  when  he  came  to  man's 
estate,  found  out  that  across  the  woods  by  the  way 
of  Indian  Rock  was  a  daughter  of  the  house  of  Tar- 
bell.  He  married  her.  In  the  course  of  time,  the  race 
of  Tarbell  being  childless  in  the  male  line,  their  son, 
Nathan  D.  Hawkes,  took  to  himself  a  wife  and  went  to 
live  in  the  old  Tarbell  house.  And  there  I  was  born. 

Jonathan  Tarbell,  Jr.,  should  have  a  place  in  Lynn- 
field's  roll  of  honor.  Although  Sergt.  Jonathan  Tar- 
bell, Jr.,  appears  upon  the  Lexington  alarm  roll 
of  Capt.  Samuel  Epes'  company,  Colonel  Pickering's 
regiment,  Danvers,  he  and  his  family  were  closely 
connected  with  Lynnfield.  He  was  the  son  of  Jona- 
than and  Mary  (Felton)  Tarbell. 

The  senior  Jonathan  purchased  the  secluded  vale 

253 


Hearths  and  Homes 

which  for  a  century  and  a  quarter  has  been  known 
as  the  Tarbell  place,  in  Lynnfield,  April  12,  1775, 
a  few  days  before  Lexington,  and  the  deed  was 
recorded  April  21,  1775,  two  days  after  the  battle. 
Previous  to  this  time  it  had  been  in  the  possession 
of  Joseph  Jeffrey  and  from  the  place  on  the  fateful 
day,  marched  Joseph  Jeffrey,  Jr.,  with  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Bancroft's  company. 

Jonathan  Tarbell,  Sr.,  the  father  of  Sergt.  Jonathan 
Tarbell,  was  the  son  of  Deacon  Cornelius  Tarbell  and 
Mary  (Sharp)  Tarbell,  of  Danvers. 

Cornelius  was  the  son  of  John  Tarbell  of  Salem 
Village,  whose  name  will  ever  be  noted  as  the  master 
spirit  in  the  ecclesiastical  contest  with  that  arch- 
conspirator  of  the  witchcraft  delusion,  Rev.  Samuel 
Parris,  which  finally  ejected  Mr.  Parris  in  disgrace 
from  the  country  and  vindicated  the  Christian  name 
of  Mr.  Tarbell 's  wife's  mother,  Rebecca  Nourse,  a 
victim  of  the  madness  of  1692. 

Upon  the  Lexington  monument  in  Peabody,  the 
first  name  on  the  list  of  dead  heroes  is  "  Samuel 
Cook,  aet.  33."  By  his  side,  when  the  British  bullet 
struck  his  heart,  stood  his  brother-in-law,  Sergt.  Jona- 
than Tarbell,  whose  wife  was  Elizabeth  Cook. 

His  home  was  near  those  of  Timothy  Munroe,  John 
Hawkes  and  Andrew  Mansfield,  and  a  portion  of  the 
large  farm  which  he  and  his  family  occupied  is  now 
on  the  extreme  eastern  verge,  covered  by  the  waters 
of  Hawkes'  Pond.  Thence  it  extended  over  the  hill 
westerly  into  the  valley  to  Saugus  River,  and  the  line 
of  Wakefield. 

854 


of  Old  Lynn 

His  sister,  Sarah,  married  Asa  Newhall,  also  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution. 

His  children  were  Mary,  who  married  Samuel  Put- 
nam ;  Jonathan,  who  died  without  issue ;  Nathaniel, 
baptized  October  2,  1781 ;  Elizabeth,  baptized  June  8, 
1783,  who  married  Nathan  Hawkes,  Jr.,  January  22, 
1805,  and  Sarah,  baptized  May  14,  1786,  who  died 
without  issue. 

He  died  November  3,  1795,  aged  fifty-three  years, 
and  his  mortal  remains  are  in  the  family  tomb  upon 
the  estate  in  Lynnfield,  as  are  also  the  remains  of 
his  parents,  who  each  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety- 
seven  years  and  died  in  1816  and  1817  respectively. 

LYNN   MUSTER  ROLL  OF  CAPT.   NATHL.   BANCROFT'S  COMPY,  IN 
DEFENCE  OF  THIS  COLONY,  UPON  APRIL  19TH,  1775. 


Rank. 

Men's  Names. 

Miles 

«!  Id.  pel- 
Mile,    days 

pay  for 
.   ye  days. 

sum 
total. 

s. 

(1. 

s. 

d. 

s. 

d. 

Capt. 

Nathl.  Bancroft    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

8 

6 

0 

11 

Lt. 

Jos.  Gowing    .   .    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

5 

8 

0 

8 

2 

Lt. 

Nathl.  Sherman     . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

5 

0 

7 

6 

Sergt. 

Thos.  Townsend    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

3 

5 

0 

5 

11 

Sergt. 

=  Timo.  Munroe    .    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

3 

5 

0 

5 

11 

Drummer 

Benj.  Adams  .    .   . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Private 

James  Bancroft    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Timo.  Wolton     .    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

*  Jas.  Gowing    .    .    . 

.  67 

5 

7 

3 

0 

4 

3 

0 

9 

10 

John  Berry  .    .   .    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Jesse  Wellman  .    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Ezekiel  Newhall    . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Jona.  Wellman  .   . 

.  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Brown,  Josua     .   . 

-  30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

=  Wounded  at  Jason  Russell's  house  at  Menotomy. 

*By  order  went  to  Ipswich  gaol  with  a  number  of  prisoners. 


Hearths  and  Homes 


Rank.                  Men's  Names.          Miles 

a  Id.  per              pay  for 

Mile.     days,    ye  days. 

sum 
total. 

s. 

d. 

s. 

d. 

B« 

d. 

Private         Wm.  Mansfield  .    .   - 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Andrew  Mansfield    . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

t  *  John  Swone     .... 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Jos.  Jeffrey,  Jr.     .   . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Nathan  Wolton      .    . 

— 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Onesimus  Newhall    . 

iik. 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

David  Norwood  .    .   . 

— 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Wm.  Norwood    .   .    . 

— 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Saml.  Mansfield     .   . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

**Danl.  Townsend    .   . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

John  Upton    .... 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

John  Harte  

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

1  1  Drubbabel  Hart     .   . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Thaddeus  Perry     . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Ephraim  Sheldon,  Jr. 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

°Josiah  Brage  .... 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

John  Pelsue     .... 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Jas  Brown  

24 

2 

1 

o 

1 

5 

o 

3 

5 

Abra.  Upton   .... 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Aaron  Aborn  .... 

24 

2 

1 

0 

1 

5 

0 

3 

5 

Thos.  Wellman  .    .   . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Andrew  Foster  . 

30 

2 

6 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

5 

4 

Francis  Sheldon     .   . 

— 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

Amos  Smith    .... 

— 

- 

- 

2 

0 

2 

10 

0 

2 

10 

t*John  Swain. 

**  Killed  at  Jason  Russell's  house  at  Menotomy,  at  5.30  P.M. 

1 1 Zerubbabel . 

°Josiah  Bragg. 

Essex  ss.  Jany  5, 1776.  Then  the  above  nameil  Nathl.  Bancroft  was  sworn 
to  ye  truth  of  ye  above  roll  or  list. 

Before  me,  ABXER  CHEEVER,  Justice  Peace. 

The  Lexington  alarm  was  responded  to  by  almost 
every  male  inhabitant  of  Lynnfield  capable  of  bearing 
arms.  Here  were  no  peace  men,  no  Quakers,  no  royal 
sympathizers,  but  the  community  was  a  unit  in  the 

256 


of  Old  Lynn 

patriotic  cause.  Thirty-eight  men  marched  with 
Captain  Bancroft.  Eighty-four  men  served  to  the 
credit  of  Lynn  field  during  the  war.  The  whole  pop- 
ulation at  that  period  could  not  have  exceeded  four 
hundred  souls.  Every  home  must  have  sent  one 
inmate  at  least,  and  many,  more  than  one.  The  list 
of  soldiers  shows  this.  Thus  there  were  four  Aborns, 
six  Bancrofts,  four  Browns,  four  Gowings,  four  Harts, 
six  Mansfields,  twelve  Newhalls,  three  Uptons,  three 
Waltons  and  three  Wellmans.  Six  other  families, 
Burnham,  Mead,  Norwood,  Nourse,  Sheldon  and 
Townsend,  each  sent  two  of  the  name.  Brothers 
and  fathers  and  sons  vied  with  each  other  in  the 
holy  crusade. 

To-day,  in  this  wonderfully  homogeneous  vale  of 
plenty  and  beauty,  which  we  call  Lynnfield,  tilling 
the  ancestral  acres  are  to  be  found  bearers  of  the 
surnames  and  Christian  names  of  the  builders  of 
the  nation  —  for  such  were  the  men  and  boys  who 
bore  the  musket  at  Lexington,  at  Saratoga,  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Delaware,  at  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point,  on  the  bleak  plain  of  Valley  Forge,  and  at  the 
capture  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1775,  Lynn  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee of  Safety,  consisting  of  Rev.  John  Treadwell,, 
of  the  First  Parish,  Deacon  Daniel  Mansfield,  of  the 
North,  or  Lynnfield,  Parish,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Roby, 
of  the  Third,  or  Saugus,  Parish.  On  the  succeeding 
Sabbath,  Mr.  Treadwell  went  into  his  pulpit  with 
his  musket  in  one  hand  and  Bible  in  the  other.  No 
doubt  Deacon  Mansfield  and  Rev.  Mr.  Roby  were 

257 


17 


Hearths  and  Homes 

equally  vigilant.  The  church  of  our  fathers  of  the 
Puritan  stock,  like  that  of  the  chosen  people  of  God 
-  the  children  of  Israel  —  upon  whose  precepts  and 
from  whose  teachings  as  revealed  in  the  Bible  they 
formulated  their  laws,  was  a  church  militant. 

Lynnfield  affords  a  striking  example  of  the  enduring- 
vitality  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  in  the  great  crisis. 
Deacon  Daniel  Mansfield,  whose  house  still  stands  in 
South  Lynnfield,  facing  south  over  the  fertile  fields, 
was  the  member  of  the  Committee  of  Safety.  Deacon 
Nathaniel  Bancroft,  of  Lynnfield  Centre  —  fifty  years 
old  —  was  the  captain  of  the  devoted  band  which 
aided  to  rout  the  veteran  troops  of  King  George 
upon  that  bright  April  morning  so  many  years  ago. 
Special  stress  is  laid  upon  the  doings  of  Captain 
Bancroft  and  his  company,  because  his  company  was 
organized  and  acted  its  chivalric  part  in  the  first 
clash  of  arms  as  a  solid  parish  unit. 

After  the  19th  of  April  and  the  appointment  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety,  the  Provincial  Congress 
and  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  selection  of 
General  Washington  to  the  command  of  the  rebel 
forces  investing  Boston,  individuals  were  fused  into 
regiments  of  the  Continental  Army. 

The  muster  roll  of  the  company  shows  a  change 
in  the  officers  later  than  the  list  appointed  at  a 
meeting  at  which  Deacon  Bancroft  presided,  when 
Joseph  Gowing  was  elected  Captain.  I  have  found 
no  record  of  the  change  whereby  Bancroft  became 
Captain  and  Gowing  First  Lieutenant.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  read  between  the  lines.  Although 

258 


of  Old  Lynn 

Captain  Bancroft  was  not  a  young  man,  he  drew  to 
the  patriots'  side  the  potential  agency  of  the  church. 
Mr.  Gowing  also  had  reached  the  exempt  age  for 
active  service,  but  he,  too,  represented  a  powerful 
factor  in  the  Puritan  polity.  He  kept  the  tavern  hard 
by  the  meeting-house,  on  the  green.  His  house  was 
the  rallying  place  of  the  gathering  before  the  formal 
start  from  the  village  green  by  the  Parish  Meeting- 
house. The  organization  is  a  fair  showing  of  the 
Yankee  shrewdness.  The  deacon  became  Captain  and 
the  inn-keeper  became  his  right-hand  man,  and  the 
controlling  forces  of  the  community  were  combined. 

The  march  was  west  from  the  green  until  upon 
the  shore  of  Lake  Quannapowit,  the  old  Charlestown 
Road  was  taken  through  the  present  towns  of  Wake- 
field,  Melrose  and  Maiden,  south,  till  it  intersected 
the  old  Salem  Road.  Over  this  last-named  road  the 
other  companies  had  marched  from  Lynn,  and  some- 
where at  about  Medford  Square  west  the  whole 
contingent  came  together  and  marched  over  to  Jason 
Russell's  in  Menotomy,  now  Arlington.  Here  they 
met  Percy's  flying  red  coats,  and  here  Townsend, 
Flint,  Hadley  and  Ramsdell  were  killed,  and  Sergt 
Timothy  Munroe  was  wounded  and  had  his  clothes 
riddled  with  bullets,  and  all  because  our  men  were 
so  largely  used  to  individual  gunning  that  they 
forgot  that  the  regulars  always  threw  out  flanking 
parties,  which  could  turn  even  stone-wall  defences. 

On  a  similar  occasion  to  this,  a  year  ago,  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge,  President  of  the  Old  Essex  Chapter 
of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  said  :  - 

259 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"There  is  no  more  patriotic  duty  than  to  keep 
fresh  in  remembrance  the  deeds  of  the  men  who 
defended  the  country  which  we  call  ours  to-day. 
None  of  these  deeds  or  performances  should  go 
uncommemorated.  There  is  no  grave  of  a  man 
who  served  his  country  in  those  early  days  of  stress, 
whether  he  was  an  obscure  private  in  the  ranks  or 
a  leader  in  the  government  of  the  nation,  that  should 
remain  unmarked  or  unrecognized  by  those  bronze 
markers,  for  all  their  lives  teach  the  same  great 
lesson.  It  is  not  merely  that  we  should  show  in 
this  way  our  gratitude  for  what  those  men  did  for 
us,  but  we  should  endeavor  to  learn  what  those  men 
were  and  what  they  did  for  us." 

We  are  not  assembled  here  on  this  fair  June  day 
for  an  outing,  for  a  gala  day,  but  mainly  to  illustrate 
a  cardinal  virtue  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution ;  that  of  reverence  for  the  hallowed  memories 
of  the  fathers. 

The  sons  and  daughters  are  joined  in  this  solemn 
duty  by  the  members  of  the  junior  order,  whose 
chapter  bears  the  honored  name  of  Daniel  Town- 
send.  As  the  years  roll  by,  this  junior  order  will 
take  the  place  of  their  elders  as  historians  and 
care-takers  at  the  shrines  of  these  devoted  men, 
whom  we  to-day,  with  uncovered  heads  and  heart- 
felt thoughts,  recall. 

It  matters  not  that  the  story  I  have  so  falteringly 
and  imperfectly  related  is  a  twice-told  tale.  The 
spirit  of  the  old  man  and  the  boy  in  the  famous 
patriotic  painting,  "The  Spirit  of  76,"  "Yankee 
Doodle,"  which  hangs  in  Abbott  Hall,  Marblehead, 

200 


of  Old  Lynn 

typifies  the  stamina  of  the  men  of  the  times,  whose 
magnetic  power  has  drawn  to  us  the  best  elements 
of  the  old  world. 

The  last  annual  parade  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  while  it  revealed  depletion  of  membership 
and  halting  steps  of  the  survivors,  while  it  showed 
the  devotion  of  the  members,  and  of  the  sons,  should 
also  be  a  reminder  that  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution  will  never  allow  the  memory  of  the  heroic 
sires  who  made  the  nation,  to  fade  from  the  faithful 
hearts  of  the  sons  to  whom  they  gave  our  glorious 
heritage. 

America,  Massachusetts  and  Lynnfield  will  bind 
the  laurel  around  the  brows  of  the  patriots  in  what- 
ever war  or  cause  they  strove  for  the  common  weal. 

And  each  oncoming  generation  will  reverently  care 
for  the  graves  and  the  memories  of  those  who  rose 
from  self  to  noble  daring. 


REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIERS  BURIED  IN  THE  OLD  GROUND, 
LYNNFIELD  CENTRE. 

Date  of  Style  of 

Death.  Age.  Stone. 

Aborn,   Ebenezer March  8,  1792  68  Gov't 

Adams,  Benjamin Jan.  16,  1811  52  Grave 

Bancroft,  James,  Lieut Aug.  22,  1814  82  Grave 

Bancroft,  Nathaniel,  Capt.     .    .    .  June  26,  1810  84  Grave 

Berry,  John Gov't 

Brown,  James Jan.  5,  1815  72  Grave 

Danforth,  John Aug.  16,  1796  40  Grave 

Gowing,  Daniel Oct.  17,  1782  Gov't 

Gowing,  Joseph,  Lieut Oct.  30,  1811  81  Gov't 

Hart,  John April  11,  1811  78  Gov't 

Hart,  Zerubbabel Feb.  14,  1797  59  Gov't 

261 


Hearths  and  Homes 


Date  of 
Death. 


Style  of 
Stone. 


Hawkes,  John May  3,  1811  57  Grave 

Herrick,  Martin July  10,  1820  74  Gov't 

Mead,  John May  2,  1817  73  Gov't 

Nourse,  Aaron July  18,  1818  65  Gov't 

Perkins,  John Sept.  4,  1823  83  Grave 

Perry,  Thaddeus Feb.  5,  1806  76  Gov't 

Sherman,  Nathaniel Sept.  27,  1809  79  Gov't 

Townsend,  Daniel April  19,  1775  36  Grave 

Upton,  John April  30,  1838  92  Grave 

Wellman,  Jesse .  April  18,  1830  87  Gov't 

Wellman,  Jonathan Feb.  6,  1822  79  Gov't 

Wellman,  Thomas Dec.  25,  1818  76  Gov't 

NEW  GROUND,  LYNNFIELD  CENTRE. 

Hart,  Ebenezer March  26,  1840  77  Grave 

Needham,  Daniel Feb.  16,  1844  83  Grave 

Parsons,  Ebenezer April  17,  1843  83  Grave 

OLD  GROUND,  SOUTH  LYNNFIELD. 

Mansfield,  Andrew May  19,  1831  Grave 

Mansfield,  Andrew July  26,  1788  31  Grave 

Mansfield,  Daniel April  2,  1797  80  Grave 

Mansfield,  William Sept.  28,  1809  60  Grave 

Newhall,  Asa May  1,  1814  81  Monm't 

Newhall,  Ezekiel Dec.  12,  1821  78  Grave 

Newhall,  Jacob Nov.  7,  1825  67  Grave 

Newhall,  William June  5,  1823  73  Grave 

Walton,  Nathan July  23,  1818  65 


202 


WHY  THE  OLD  TOWN  HOUSE  WAS  BUILT.1 


offering  I  bring  you  to-day  is  not  history, 
but  simply  the  miner's  rude  ore,  in  which, 
when  your  historian  comes,  he  may  find  some 
facts  which  may  be  welded  into  the  annals  of  a  quiet 
town,  whose  sons  are  proud  to  trace  their  kinship  to 
its  Puritan  founders. 

The  planters  of  Massachusetts  were  the  most 
earnest,  devout  and  intelligent  people  of  their  age. 
While  they  were  largely  influenced  by  considera- 
tions of  religious  freedom,  they  were  also  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  idea  of  founding  an  ideal  com- 
monwealth, a  greater  England,  freed  from  feudalism 
and  fashioned  on  the  Mosaic  code. 

They  had  to  create  a  church  and  a  state.  They 
made  the  town  the  unit  of  the  civil  power,  and  the 
parish  the  unit  of  ecclesiastical  authority.  In  the 
growth  of  the  Puritan  theocracy,  parish  and  town 
were  practically  one.  The  parish  chose  the  repre- 
sentatives to  the  General  Court,  and  the  town  chose 
the  minister.  All  town  affairs  were  determined  in 
the  parish  meeting-house. 

1  An  address  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the  new  Town  Hall, 
Lynnfield,  January  28,  1892. 

263 


Hearths  and  Homes 

When  the  people  multiplied  and  it  became  expe- 
dient to  form  new  parishes,  it  was  accomplished  in 
several  ways  and  under  several  names,  all  subordi- 
nating other  motives  to  that  of  the  religious  welfare 
of  the  inhabitants.  Two  examples  of  parishes  and 
towns  formed  from  the  parent  town  and  parish  are 
at  hand.  Lynn  was  a  town,  self  incorporated  by 
a  community  sending  its  freemen  to  the  general 
meeting  place  of  the  Colony  and  then  sending  dep- 
uties to  the  first  General  Court. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  great  Puritan 
exodus  from  England,  the  organized  transplanting 
of  a  whole  people,  was  almost  wholly  between  1630 
and  1640.  At  the  latter  date,  the  prospects  of 
religious  liberty  at  home  had  so  brightened  with 
the  successes  of  Parliament,  that  emigration  stopped 
and  some  of  the  more  enthusiastic  spirits,  like  Hugh 
Peters  of  Salem  and  Thomas  Marshall  of  Lynn, 
returned  to  serve  under  the  banners  of  Fairfax  and 
Cromwell,  as  chaplain  and  captain. 

The  frequent  arrival  of  planters  during  those  years 
created  pressing  demands  for  more  lands.  The  fer- 
tile uplands  in  the  interior  invited  the  agricultural 
settlers  with  their  flocks  and  herds  away  from  the 
sea  coast.  The  normal  line  of  expansion  from  Lynn 
was  up  the  valley  of  "  the  great  river  at  Saugus  "  to 
its  source  in  "the  great  pond,"  which  is  now  known 
as  Lake  Quannapowitt  in  the  present  town  of  Wake- 
field.  Hence,  on  the  ninth  of  September,  1639,  the 
General  Court  granted  more  territory  to  Lynn  in 
the  following  language  :  - 

264 


of  Old  Lynn 

"  The  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Lynn,  for  a 
place  for  an  inland  plantation  at  the  head  of  their 
bounds  is  granted  them  4  miles  square,  as  the  place 
will  afford  :  upon  condition  that  the  petitioner  shall, 
within  two  years,  make  some  good  proceeding  in 
planting,  so  as  it  may  be  a  village,  fit  to  contain  a 
convenient  number  of  inhabitants,  which  may  in  dew 
time  have  a  church  there  ;  and  so  as  such  as  shall 
remove  to  inhabit  there,  shall  not  with  all  keepe  their 
accommodations  in  Linn  above  2  years  after  their 
removal  to  the  said  village,  upon  pain  to  forfeit  their 
interest  in  one  of  them  at  their  election :  except  this 
court  shall  see  fit  cause  to  dispence  further  with 
them." 

This  " inland  plantation"  had  its  extreme  northern 
line  upon  the  Ipswich  River,  and  included  the  mod- 
ern towns  of  Reading  and  Wakefield.  The  language 
of  the  act  shows  the  constant,  careful  provision  made 
for  the  religious  welfare  of  the  people.  It  was  made 
incumbent  upon  the  grantees  to  send  into  the  new 
territory  enough  settlers  to  form  a  church.  They 
were  not  to  straggle  up  into  the  wilderness,  but 
were  to  go  in  sufficient  numbers  to  warrant  the 
settlement  and  maintenance  of  a  pastor.  Another 
point  aimed  to  prevent  one  who  had  already  received 
a  grant  in  Lynn  from  absorbing  another  in  Lynn 
Village.  If  he  took  a  new  grant  and  residence  in 
the  village,  he  abandoned  his  "  accommodations  "  in 
the  town. 

The  purpose  of  the  settlers  and  of  the  General 
Court  was,  not  to  make  unwieldy  towns  where  attend- 
ance at  worship  would  be  inconvenient,  but,  as  in 

265 


Hearths  and  Homes 

this  case,  to  put  the  settlers  of  the  new  territory 
under  the  care  of  Lynn  till  such  time  as  they  were 
strong  enough  to  support  a  church  of  their  own. 
Church  and  town  were  so  nearly  identical  that  when 
its  church  had  been  gathered,  the  General  Court, 
May  29,  1644,  incorporated  Lynn  Village  as  the 
Town  of  Reading. 

Thus  early  the  added  portion  of  Lynn  secured  an 
independent  church  and  township.  Lynn  End,  or 
Lynnfield,  even  earlier  than  Lynn  Village  or  Reading, 
became  a  part  of  Lynn.  On  the  13th  of  March, 
1638-39,  the  General  Court  records  relate  that  "  Linn 
was  granted  6  miles  into  the  countrey,  &  Mr.  Haw- 
thorne &  Leif  F.  Davenport  to  view  &  inform  how 
the  land  beyond  lyeth  —  whether  it  may  bee  fit  for 
another  plantation  or  no." 

This  was  a  mere  territorial  extension  of  Lynn 
bounds  for  the  convenience  of  the  settlers  of  the 
then  existing  parish.  It  was  not  granted  with  the 
intention  of  establishing  a  separate  parish  and  town. 
The  settlers  upon  the  fair,  upland  plains  of  Lynnfield 
remained  attached  to  the  first  parish  for  many  a 
long  year,  and  were  bound  to  travel  nine  good  miles 
to  worship  in  the  meeting-house  by  the  sea.  Our 
fathers  desired  exceedingly  the  consolations  of  reli- 
gious ministrations,  but  the  long,  rough  roads  through 
the  sombre  Lynn  Woods  were  stumbling  blocks  in 
their  way. 

At  the  time  Lynn  was  about  to  build  a  new 
meeting-house  (1682)  much  discussion  was  had  in 
regard  to  choosing  a  site  near  the  geographical 

2(56 


of  Old  Lynn 

centre  of  the  town.  A  now-wooded  hill  at  the  west 
of  Birch  Pond,  within  the  limits  of  the  present  Town 
of  Saugus,  was  favored  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
west  and  north  parts  of  the  town.  The  dwellers 
of  the  eastern  end  by  the  sea  objected  to  going  to 
the  breezy  uplands.  The  project  failed.  The  "  Old 
Tunnel "  Meeting-house  was  built  on  Lynn  Common. 
Out  of  the  failure  to  agree  upon  the  western  location 
grew,  not  in  contention,  but  in  Christian  spirit,  the 
Second,  or  North  Parish,  and  the  Third,  or  West 
Parish.  These  by  natural  laws  of  evolution  became 
later  on  the  Towns  of  Lynnfield  and  Saugus.  Mean- 
time the  little  band  kept  the  faith ;  some  went  to 
the  Lynn  church,  others  became  connected  with  the 
Reading  church,  so  much  more  convenient,  but  all 
were  required  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the 
ministry  of  the  First  Parish.  Then,  still  recognizing 
the  paramount  duty  of  maintenance  of  the  ministry 
and  of  convenience  of  attending  service,  the  Town 
of  Lynn,  November  17,  1712,  voted  :  - 

"  In  answer  to  that  petition  of  our  neighbors,  the 
farmers,  so  called,  dated  Feb.  13,  1711,  desiring  to 
be  a  precinct,  that  all  the  part  of  the  town  that  lies 
on  the  northerly  side  of  that  highway  that  leads 
from  Salem  to  Reading,  be  set  off  for  a  precinct, 
and  when  they  shall  have  a  meeting-house  and  a 
minister,  qualified  according  to  law,  settled  to  preach 
the  Word  of  God  amongst  them,  then  they  shall  be 
wholly  freed  from  paying  to  the  ministry  of  the 
town  and  not  before.  And  if  afterwards  they  shall 
cease  to  maintain  a  minister  amongst  them  then  to 
pay  to  the  minister  of  the  town  as  heretofore." 

267 


Hearths  and  Homes 

As  early  as  1678,  as  appeared  by  a  petition  to  the 
General  Court  in  that  year,  the  "  Adjacent  Farmers'' 
of  Lynnfield  and  Stoneham  were  crowding  the  Read- 
ing church  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  enlarge  the 
building,  not  for  their  own  accommodation,  but  for 
that  of  those  who  worshiped  there  from  this  side  of 
Saugus  River  and  yet  were  obliged  "  to  pay  their  hole 
rates  to  their  own  towns." 

In  their  perplexity  they  go  to  the  General  Court 
to  see  if  there  is  any  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 

"  The  humble  petision  of  the  towne  of  Redding 
Humbly  Showeth  —  That  whereas  our  case,  being  as 
your  petissiners  humbly  conseive,  soe  sircumstanced 
as  we  Know  not  the  like  in  all  Respects  —  and  not 
Knowing  which  waye  to  helpe  ourselves.  But  By 
humbly  acquainting  yor  honners  with  our  state, 
your  honners  beeing  the  Fathers  of  the  Common- 
wealth to  which  wee  doe  belonge ;  and  yor  petis- 
siners humbly  hoping  that  yor  honners  will  helpe 
soe  far  as  may  bee  to  the  Relieving  of  us  in  our 
case  :  It  being  soe  with  us  that  wee  are  butt  a  poore 
place,  very  few  above  sixty  families  Abell  to  pay 
the  Ministry,  and  severall  of  them  have  more  need 
to  Receive  than  to  paye.  If  wee  were  a  place  of 
ability  as  many  others  bee  ;  and  to  us  there  is  Adjacent 
farmers,  which  bee  constant  hearers  of  the  word, 
with  us,  which  goes  not  at  all  to  their  owne  towne, 
But  Transiently  as  others  doe ;  Neither  came  they 
one  the  Sabbath  days  butt  bee  breakers  of  the  Lawe 
of  God  and  of  this  commonwealth  as  we  conseive. 
And  to  many  of  them  itt  would  be  soe  intolerable 
a  burthen,  then  many  of  them  must  necessarily 
refraine  from  the  public  worship  of  god,  established 
amongst  us,  for  prevention  of  which  they  doe  heare 


of  Old  Lynn 

with  us,  which  seems  to  be  very  hard  for  us  to 
maintayne  Ministry  and  meeting-house  conveniently 
for  them,  and  others  to  force  them  to  paye  their 
hole  Rates  to  their  one  townes,  as  others  do ;  or  if 
some  of  them  bee  Betterminded,  the  bisenes  lyeth 
so  at  the  present,  that  wee  have  nothing  from  them 
all  or  next  to  nothing. 

"  Another  thing  that  your  humble  petisioners  desire 
to  declare  to  your  honners  is  thatt  wee  have  now  not 
roume  enough  in  our  Meeting  house  for  ourselves, 
but  the  Adjasent  farmers  being  one  third  or  very 
neare  one  third  as  much  as  wee,  wee  muste  build 
anew  before  itt  bee  Louge  for  the  house  will  be  too 
littell  for  them  and  us,  which  wee  hope  your  honners 
will  consider  how  the  case  is  like  to  bee  with  us,  if 
nothing  be  considered.  Butt  as  wee  hope  itt  is  the 
waye,  that  god  would  have  us  to  take  to  leave  the 
case  to  your  honners,  we  desire  humbly  soe  to  doe, 
and  quiettly  to  reste  to  this  honoured  Courte's  good 
pleasure  as  to  what  hath  been  declared. 

"  And  shall  ever  pray  —  In  the  name  &  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  Reste  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Town. 
Wm.  Cowdrey,  Robert  Burnap,  Jona.  Poole,  Thomas 
Parker,  Jeremy  Swaine." 


In  1688,  Reading  set  about  building  a  new  meeting- 
house. Among  the  subscribing  for  liberal  amounts 
were  the  men  of  Lynnfield,  such  as  John  Pearson, 
John  Bancroft,  Hananiah  Hutchinson,  Edward  Hutch- 
inson,  Isaac  Hart,  Capt.  Thomas  Bancroft,  John  Poole, 
Timothy  Hartshorne  and  John  Townsend.  Most  of 
them  are  the  names  of  the  planters  of  the  sturdy  stock 
whose  good  qualities  are  perpetuated  by  their  descend- 
ants in  the  ancestral  homesteads  even  to  this  day. 

269 


Hearths  and  Homes 

In  Eaton's  "  History  of  Reading  "  is  given  "  a  cata- 
logue of  the  brethren  and  sisters  in  full  communion 
in  the  first  church  in  Reading,  Jan.  3,  1720-1." 
Among  them  are  twenty  "members  of  this  church 
belonging  to  Lynn  End  (Lynnfield)  not  yet  dis- 
missed." 

Later  in  the  same  year  (1720)  the  Reading  church 
records  show  dismissals  to  join  Lynn  End  church. 
From  1712  to  1720,  the  pious  work  of  building  a 
meeting-house  and  preparing  to  maintain  a  ministry 
went  on.  In  the  latter  year  the  conditions  of  sep- 
aration from  the  First  Parish  were  all  fulfilled,  and 
Lynnfield  became  a  Precinct  and  Second  Parish  of 
Lynn. 

The  division  line  of  1712  "all  that  part  of  the 
town  that  lies  on  the  northerly  side  of  that  highway 
that  leads  from  Salem  to  Reading  "  was  an  ecclesi- 
astical line.  The  houses  of  the  settlers  on  that  road 
were  built  upon  the  northern  side  facing  due  south. 
They  looked  out  upon  their  broad  acres  on  the  other 
side  of  the  road.  When  the  formal  sanction  of  the 
General  Court  was  had  to  the  recognition  of  the 
District  of  Lynnfield  in  1782,  a  territorial  line  was 
run  taking  in  the  farm  and  timber  lands  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  description. 

"  Beginning  at  Saugus  river,  near  a  white  oak  tree 
in  Jonathan  Tarbell's  lower  field,  near  the  cant  of 
the  river  which  is  in  the  line  between  Jefferd's  and 
Brinton's  farms  and  running  eastwardly  to  lands  of 
Benjamin  Riddon  ;  thence  turning  by  John  Pool's 
land,  as  the  wall  runs,  to  a  great  rock  by  the  side 


of  Old  Lynn 

of  the  hill ;  thence  southeasterly  to  Josiah  Newhall's 
southwest  corner  bound,  adjoining  to  the  town  wall, 
so-called ;  thence  running  south-easterly  to  Andrew 
Mansfield's  south-west  corner  bound,  at  the  wall ; 
thence  running  as  the  wall  runs,  to  the  southeast 
corner  of  John  Lindsey's  orchard  ;  thence  northerly 
as  the  wall  runs  to  the  road  that  leads  from  Reading 
to  Salem ;  thence  easterly,  as  the  road  runs  to 
Danvers  line." 

This  line  included  all  the  farms  on  the  Reading 
Road,  except  those  of  Asa  Newhall  and  John  Lindsey, 
who  cast  their  lots  with  the  parent  town. 

Under  the  precinct  line  of  1712,  I  could  not  have 
had  the  right  to  address  you  to-day  as  a  native.  By 
the  district  line  of  1782,  unchanged  when  the  town 
was  established,  that  privilege  is  mine. 

In  provincial  times  the  words  "  district,"  "  precinct " 
and  " peculiar"  were  practically  synonymous. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  the  General  Court  based, 
and  on  the  21st  of  November,  1702,  the  Royal  Gov- 
ernor, Joseph  Dudley,  signed  an  act  which  defines 
the  powers  of  Districts,  and  indicates  their  eccle- 
siastical origin. 

"  That  the  inhabitants  of  each  district  or  precinct, 
respectively,  regularly  set  off  from  any  town,  shall 
be  and  are  hereby  empowered  to  name  and  appoint 
a  clerk,  as  of  right  towns  by  law  have ;  as  also 
assessors  for  the  assessing  and  raising  a  mainte- 
nance and  support  for  the  minister  of  such  district 
or  precinct,  and  to  make  out  a  warrant,  in  form  as 
by  the  law  prescribed  for  town  rates  or  assessments, 
directed  to  the  constable  of  the  town  or  district,  for 

271 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  collecting  and  levying  of  the  same,  who  is 
required  to  execute  such  warrant  accordingly.  And 
in  case  the  assessors  so  appointed  shall  refuse  or 
neglect  that  service,  the  selectmen  of  the  town  from 
whence  such  district  or  precinct  was  set  off,  shall 
and  are  hereby  required  to  assess  the  inhabitants 
of  the  same  the  sum  agreed  upon  or  set  for  mainte- 
nance of  the  minister  thereof." 


June  19,  1782,  the  town  (Lynn)  met  agreeable  to 
adjournment  and  the  committee  made  the  following 
report,  viz. :  - 


"  We  the  committee  of  the  town  of  Lynn  and  the 
committee  of  the  North  Parish  in  sd  Town  chosen 
by  sd  Town  &  Parish  to  agree  on  some  terms  to 
set  off  sd  Parish  from  sd  Town  as  a  separate  District, 
have  met  and  do  agree  to  set  off  sd  Parish  in  the 
following  manner,  viz :  they  the  sd  Parish  to  pay 
all  their  proportion  of  the  Town's  debt  due  a  this 
time  &  all  town  charges  till  they  the  sd  Parish  are 
set  off  by  the  General  Court  as  a  separate  district 
from  sd  Town  also  that  sd  Parish  pay  their  propor- 
tionate part  to  support  the  poor  of  sd  Town  till  the 
close  of  the  war  &  at  the  end  of  the  war  the  poor 
shall  be  divided  &  sd  North  Parish  shall  take  their 
proportionate  part  of  sd  Poor  agreeable  to  their 
Taxes  &  that  the  sd  Poor  to  be  proportionable  by 
a  committee  chosen  by  sd  Town  &  Parish  viz  :  sd 
Town  to  choose  two  men  to  be  sd  committee  &  sd 
Parish,  one,  &  if  they  cannot  agree  on  sd  proportion 
to  have  power  to  submit  it  to  disinterested  men 
mutually  chosen  and  that  the  poor  be  under  the 
care  of  the  above  sd  committee  during  the  war  and 

272 


of  Old  Lynn 

if  sd   North   Parish   request   it  they  to   take  their 
proportion  of  sd  Poor  and  support  them  in  sd  parish. 

LYNN  June  19,  1782. 

JOHN  MANSFIELD, 
WILLIAM  COLLINS, 


JAMES  NEWHALL, 
SAMUEL   SWEETSER, 
ABNER   HOOD, 


Town]  Committee. 


DANIEL  MANSFIELD,     ) 
JONATHAN  TARBELL,    (•  ^ 

JOSEPH  GOWING,  )    Committee- 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1813,  the  District  of  Lynnfield 
chose  a  committee  consisting  of  Daniel  Needham, 
Andrew  Mansfield,  and  John  Upton,  Jr.,  to  petition 
the  General  Courts  to  be  admitted  as  a  town.  The 
petition  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Towns, 
January  13,  1814.  The  reasons  for  this  step  were 
given  as  follows,  viz. :  - 

"  That  the  distance  from  Lynnfield  Meeting-house 
to  the  place  where  the  election  of  Representatives 
is  generally  held  is  nine  miles  that  even  that  distance 
it  is  conceived  is  not  so  great  as  an  accurate  average 
to  the  whole  inhabitants  would  be.  That  the  great 
distance  renders  it  inconvenient  for  the  inhabitants 
to  attend  the  election.  We  would  observe  that  the 
district  of  Lynnfield  has  no  connection  with  the 
Town  of  Lynn,  excepting  in  the  choice  of  Repre- 
sentatives, all  of  which  most  respectfully  submitted 
and  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  pray." 

A  remonstrance  was  presented  February  1,  1814, 
signed  by  twenty-three  tax  payers,  beginning  with 
Jacob  Newhall  and  closing  with  Asa  Tarbell  Newhall, 

273 

18 


Hearths  and  Homes 

representing  that  the  ratable  polls  were   not  more 
than  about  one  hundred  and  thirty - 

" .  .  .  .  with  which  numbers  your  honor  will  per- 
ceive we  shall  not  have  a  constitutional  right  to  be 
represented  in  the  Honorable  Legislature,  that  the 
inconvenience  of  a  few  miles'  travel  at  the  annual 
meetings  in  May  would  be  inconsiderable ;  that  to 
deprive  your  petitioner  of  the  privilege  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  Legislature  of  this  Commonwealth 
would  be  an  event  much  to  be  deplored,  that  many 
of  the  evils  and  inconveniences  which  would  result 
to  your  petitioners  from  a  deprivation  of  that  right 
cannot  be  concealed  from  them. 

"  Therefore  pray  not  to  be  set  off.     Feb.  1st,  1814." 

Extracts  from  the  warrant  and  records  of  Lynn 
show  that  the  three  parts  of  the  town,  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  ill-starred  last  war  with  England,  were 
more  exercised  over  domestic  than  foreign  affairs. 
Saugus  is  there  styled  the  Second  Parish,  as  Lynn- 
field  Parish  had  long  been  treated  as  a  practical^ 
independent  place,  entirely  so  as  far  as  its  parish 
was  concerned. 

Saugus  had  to  wait  another  year  before  its  desire 
for  local  government  was  gratified.  The  age  of 
parishes  has  been  succeeded  by  the  era  of  steam  and 
electricity,  and  the  Saugus  people  of  to-day  begin 
to  realize  that  their  boundary  line  with  Lynn  is  a 
purely  arbitrary  one  and  perhaps  it  would  be  as  well 
if  it  did  not  exist  at  all. 

"Warrant,  Lynn  Town  Meeting,  Jan.  22,  1814.- 
Meet  at  Hall  of  Paul  &  Ellis  Newhall.     1st,  choose 

274 


of  Old  Lynn 

moderator.  2nd,  To  see  if  the  town  will  express 
their  assent  to  a  certain  petition  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  District  of  Lynnfield  to  our  General  Court  to 
be  incorporated  into  a  town  or  otherwise  to  choose  a 
committee  to  remonstrate  in  the  General  Court  in 
behalf  of  the  Town  against  the  said  petition  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  said  district  of  Lynnfield,  or  other- 
wise to  see  what  other  order  the  town  will  take 
respecting  said  petition.  3rd,  To  see  if  the  town 
will  express  their  assent  to  a  certain  petition  of 
Nathan  Hawkes  and  others  to  our  General  Court  to 
have  the  Second  Parish  in  Lynn  set  off  from  the 
town  of  Lynn  and  established  as  a  separate  district, 
and  if  so  to  choose  a  committee  in  behalf  of  the  town 
to  make  arrangements  and  settle  all  concerns  with 
sd  Second  Parish.  Otherwise  to  see  if  the  town  will 
choose  a  committee  to  remonstrate  in  our  General 
Court  in  behalf  of  the  Town  against  the  sd  petition 
of  Nathan  Hawkes  and  others  or  otherwise  to  see 
what  other  order  the  town  will  take  respecting  the 
petition. 

HENRY   HALLO  WELL,  > 
NEHEMIAH   SILSBEE,    \  Sel 

"  Jan.  31,  1814.    Oliver  Fuller,  Moderator. 

"  Voted,  to  choose  the  Selectmen  a  committee  in 
order  to  make  as  good  a  bargain  as  they  can  with 
the  inhabitants  of  Lynnfield  and  if  not  to  the  com- 
mittee's satisfaction  then  to  remonstrate  against  the 
District  being  set  off  as  a  town  and  report  at  the 
adjournment  of  this  meeting." 

This  committee  made  a  report  which  shows  that 
the  parent  town  virtually  left  the  matter  in  the 
hands  of  the  people  of  the  District,  and  it  forcibly 

275 


Hearths  and  Homes 

points  out  the  simplicity  and  public  virtues  of  those 
days.  The  committee  actually  refused  to  put  the 
town  to  the  expense  for  a  junket. 

"  Report  of  Selectmen. —  To  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Town  of  Lynn  in  Town  Meeting  Assembled  :  —Your 
committee  chosen  by  the  town  for  the  purpose  of 
making  as  good  a  bargain  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  District  of  Lynnfield  as  they  can,  and  if  not  to 
their  satisfaction  there  to  remonstrate  against  said 
District  being  set  off  as  a  town,  thought  expedient 
to  request  the  Committee  on  Corporations  to  give 
your  committee  one  week  longer  to  settle  with  said 
District,  which  time  your  committee  understood  was 
granted  and  soon  after  have  been  informed  that  a 
remonstrance  from  the  Inhabitants  of  said  District 
has  been  handed  into  the  Court  against  the  District 
being  set  off  as  a  Town.  Under  these  considerations 
your  committee  thought  best  not  to  put  the  town  to 
the  expense  of  a  journey  to  Lynnfield  on  said  busi- 
ness, but  to  await  some  further  direction. 

HENRY   HALLOWELL." 

"Lynn,  Feb.  7,  1814. 

"  Voted,  to  accept  the  Selectmen's  report  respect- 
ing the  business  with  Lynnfield,  and  dismiss  them 
from  that  business. 

"  Voted,  that  Henry  Oliver,  James  Gardner,  Micajah 
Newhall,  John  Pratt,  Aaron  Breed,  Elija  Downing, 
Richard  Breed  and  John  Alley,  Jr.,  be  directed  to 
meet  with  the  2d  Parish  in  order  to  form  a  bill  for 
an  incorporation,  if  the  prayer  of  Nathan  Hawkes 
and  others  be  granted." 

The  Lynnfield  remonstrants  had  logic  and  facts  on 
their  sid  e,  for  under  the  Constitution  of  the  Common- 

276 


of  Old  Lynn 

wealth  only  "every  corporate  town  containing  one 
hundred  and  fifty  ratable  polls  may  elect  one  repre- 
sentative." Lynnfield  district  had  only  one  hundred 
and  thirty  polls.  As  a  part  of  Lynn  its  freeholders 
had  the  privilege  of  voting  for  representatives ;  as 
a  town  they  would  be  disfranchised.  The  petitioners 
prevailed,  however,  and  Lynnfield  became  a  town  on 
the  28th  of  February,  1814. 

When  at  last  Lynnfield  became  entitled  to  send 
a  representative  to  the  General  Court,  neither  John 
Upton,  Jr.,  who  had  favored  the  setting  off  the  new 
town,  nor  Asa  Tarbell  Newhall,  who  had  opposed, 
became  the  first  representative,  but  the  choice  fell 
upon  Gen.  Josiah  Newhall,  who  was  elected  for  the 
political  year  beginning  on  the  last  Wednesday  in 
May,  1826,  and  again  in  1827. 

Asa  T.  Newhall  succeeded  General  Newhall  and 
he  in  turn  was  followed  by  John  Upton,  Jr. 

I  am  aware  that  these  are  dry,  disjointed  gleanings 
from  a  local  history  which  is  rich  in  interest  to 
students  of  New  England  life.  The  dedication  of 
your  fair  new  town  building  marks  an  era  in  your 
existence.  It  is  the  final  divorce  of  church  and 
town.  The  holding  of  the  town  meetings  in  the 
house  erected  on  the  Green  by  the  Old  North  Parish 
was  a  reminder  of  Puritan  ways  that  at  this  day  is 
almost  unique.  The  old  house  was  plain,  but  it  was 
in  keeping  with  the  plain  God-fearing  yeomanry  who 
there  legislated  and  worshiped. 

There  the  precinct,  district  and  town  of  Lynnfield 
were  formed.  After  the  massive  oak  timbers  of  that 

277 


Hearths  and  Homes 

edifice  were  hewn  from  the  primeval  forest,  two 
generations  of  men  had  wrought  their  appointed 
tasks  ere  the  solemn  rumble  of  creaking  wagons 
passed  on  to  the  Col.  Cox  Tavern  with  precious 
freight  of  dead  and  wounded.  That  wondrous  day, 
the  19th  of  April,  1775,  had  occurred,  and  hard  by  in 
yonder  church-yard  repose  the  mortal  remains  of 
Lynnfield's  hero  and  martyr  of  that  day. 

The  manner  of  his  death  is  related  in  the  "  History 
of  Lynn"  as  told  by  Timothy  Munroe,  also  of  Lynn- 
field. 

"  He  (Munroe)  was  standing  behind  a  house,  with 
Daniel  Townsend,  firing  at  the  British  troops,  as  they 
were  coming  down  the  road,  in  their  retreat  towards 
Boston.  Townsend  had  just  fired,  and  exclaimed, 
'  There  is  another  redcoat  down,'  when  Munroe,  look- 
ing round,  saw  to  his  astonishment,  that  they  were 
completely  hemmed  in  by  the  flank  guard  of  the 
British  army,  who  were  coming  down  through  the 
fields  behind  them.  They  immediately  ran  into  the 
house  and  sought  for  the  cellar,  but  no  cellar  was 
there.  They  looked  for  a  closet  but  there  was  none. 
All  this  time,  which  was  indeed  but  a  moment,  the 
balls  were  pouring  through  the  back  windows,  mak- 
ing havoc  of  the  glass.  Townsend  leaped  through 
the  end  window  carrying  the  sash  and  all  with  him, 
and  instantly  fell  dead.  Munroe  followed,  and  ran 
for  his  life.  He  passed  for  a  long  distance  between 
both  parties,  many  of  whom  discharged  their  guns 
at  him.  As  he  passed  the  last  soldier,  who  stopped 
to  fire,  he  heard  the  redcoat  exclaim,  'Damn  the 
yankee,  he  is  bullet  proof  —  let  him  go ! ' 

"  Mr.  Munroe  had  one  ball  through  his  leg,  and 
thirty-two  bullet  holes  through  his  clothes  and  hat. 

278 


of  Old  Lynn 

Even  the  metal  buttons  of  his  waistcoat  were  shot 
off.  He  kept  his  clothes  until  he  was  tired  of  show- 
ing them,  and  died  in  1808,  aged  72  years." 

The  house  of  the  survivor,  Munroe,  where  he  used 
to  tell  the  tale  of  the  great  fight,  but  little  changed 
in  itself  or  in  its  surroundings,  still  stands  by  the 
road  that  "leads  from  Salem  to  Reading,"  next  west 
of  the  mansion  of  George  L.  Hawkes. 

Across  the  field  from  Munroe's  house  to  the  south 
near  the  Saugus  River,  there  is  an  old  house  which 
was  the  home  of  another  Minute  Man  of  that  day, 
Jonathan  Tarbell,  who  stood  by  the  side  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Samuel  Cook,  of  the  Danvers  Company,  whose 
name  heads  the  list  of  these  Danvers  martyrs  upon 
the  Lexington  Monument  in  Peabody. 

Sturdy  artisans  were  raising  the  frame  of  that 
edifice  a  century  before  the  star  of  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte set  in  final  darkness  upon  the  field  of  Waterloo. 
The  snows  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  bleak  winters  had 
blown  upon  it  when  Grant  and  Lee  met  at  Appo- 
mattox.  And  Appomattox  to  those  living  to-day 
seems  like  history.  As  a  church  edifice  it  has  only 
two  rivals  in  the  State  in  point  of  age.  The  stout 
old  building  ought  to  stand  for  many  generations. 
It  has  been  the  Council  Chamber  of  a  homogenous 
people.  Other  elements  will  naturally  mingle  in  the 
assemblies  in  the  new  Town  House.  May  those  who 
dwell  here  hereafter,  be  as  pure-minded  and  as  happy 
as  our  fathers  were  ! 


279 


JOHN   ENDICOTT  AND  THE   RED  CROSS 

ENSIGN. 


N  THE  histories  of  New  England,  the  incident 
of  cutting  the  cross  from  the  English  ensign 
by  John  Endicott,  is  a  dramatic  feature.  The 
scene  and  its  meaning  have,  however,  been  somewhat 
distorted  by  the  poetic  imagination  or  the  local  draw- 
ings of  the  story-tellers.  In  that  interesting  book, 
"The  Old  Landmarks  of  Boston,"  by  implication,  if 
not  by  direct  assertion,  Mr.  Drake  locates  the  act  in 
Boston.  The  same  inference  is  drawn  from  many 
other  works  relating  to  our  Colonial  history.  In  each, 
it  is  the  stern  Governor  who  mutilates  the  royal 
banner  of  England. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  affair  did  not  happen  in 
Boston,  and  Endicott  was  not  Governor.  As  near  as 
we  can  now  glean  from  the  past —  and  the  record  is 
clearer  than  that  of  any  other  people  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  for  there  yet  exist  the  journal,  can- 
did and  conscientious,  of  John  Winthrop,  and  a  cloud 
of  contemporaneous  black-letter  witnesses,  friendly 
and  hostile  —  there  was  a  deep,  prophetic  motive 
underlying  this  seemingly  impetuous  act  of  a  hot- 
headed Puritan. 

The  scene  was  the  training-field  at  Salem ;  the 
perpetrator  of  the  sacrilegious  act  was  the  Puritan 

281 


Hearths  and  Homes 

captain,  John  Endicott ;  the  instigator  was  the  pastor 
of  Salem  church,  Roger  Williams ;  the  attendants 
were  Endicott's  train  band  ;  the  most  reliable  relator 
was  John  Winthrop  ;  the  time  was  early  autumn, 
1634,  a  year  earlier  than  the  date  of  any  extant 
writing  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 

As  near  as  Boston  and  Salem  are  to-day,  the  hap- 
penings of  one  day  at  Salem  in  Colonial  times  were  not 
reported  in  Boston  till  several  days  had  passed.  An 
extract  from  Governor  Winthrop's  journal  will  best 
describe  the  remoteness  of  the  two  settlements  :  - 

"October  25,  1631.  The  governour  with  Capt. 
Underhill  and  others  of  the  officers  went  on  foot  to 
Saugus,  and  next  day  to  Salem,  where  they  were 
bountifully  entertained  by  Capt.  Endicott,  etc.,  and 
the  28th  they  returned  to  Boston  by  the  ford  at 
Saugus  River  and  so  over  at  Mistick." 

The  earliest  dated  manuscript  bearing  upon  this 
matter,  which  has  escaped  moths  and  paper  mills,  is 
a  letter  written  November  6,  1634,  by  John  Winthrop, 
to  his  son  John,  "  at  Mr.  Downing,  his  chamber  in  the 
Inner  Temple  Lane,  London,"  in  which  he  writes  :  — 

"  At  the  court  it  was  informed  that  some  of  Salem 
had  taken  out  a  piece  of  the  cross  in  their  ensign  ; 
whereupon  we  sent  forth  an  attachment  to  bring  in 
the  parties  at  the  next  court,  where  they  are  like  to 
be  punished  for  their  indiscreet  zeal,  for  the  people 
are  generally  offended  with  it." 

Mr.  Winthrop's  words  were  to  be  read  in  England. 
He  does  not  say  that  the  people  are  generally  offended 

282 


of  Old  Lynn 

with  the  act  in  consequence  of  which  "  some  of  Salem 
are  like  to  be  punished,"  but  they  are  offended  at  the 
"  indiscreet  zeal,"  which  is  quite  another  matter. 
Under  date  November  27,  1634,  Dudley  being  Gov- 
ernor, Winthrop  wrote  in  his  journal :  — 

"  The  assistants  met  at  the  governour's  to  advise 
about  the  defacing  of  the  cross  in  the  ensign  at 
Salem,  where  (taking  advice  of  some  of  the  min- 
isters) we  agreed  to  write  to  Mr.  Downing  in  Eng- 
land of  the  truth  of  the  matter,  under  all  our  hands, 
that,  if  occasion  were,  he  might  show  it  in  our  excuse  ; 
for  therein  we  expressed  our  dislike  of  the  thing,  and 
our  purpose  to  punish  the  offenders,  yet  with  as  much 
wariness  as  we  might,  being  doubtful  of  the  lawful 
use  of  the  cross  in  an  ensign  though  we  were  clear 
that  fact  as  concerning  the  matter,  was  very  unlawful." 

The  Mr.  Downing  referred  to,  was  Emanuel  Down- 
ing, a  London  barrister,  the  brother-in-law  of  Win- 
throp. He  seems  to  have  been  the  counsel  for  the 
colony  at  home,  who  was  to  smooth  the  troubled 
waters  if  complaint  was  made  to  the  king.  He 
afterwards  came  over  and  lived  for  several  years  in 
Salem,  where  he  was  held  in  great  esteem,  and  was 
often  in  the  General  Court.  He  was  the  father  of  the 
celebrated  Sir  George  Downing,  ambassador  of  both 
Cromwell  and  Charles  II,  in  Holland.  If  we  accept 
the  adage,  "  like  father,  like  son,"  the  historical 
reader  will  believe  that  the  Colony  chose  a  wily  agent 
to  represent  it  in  England  with  as  much  "  wariness  " 
as  might  be,  we  "  being  doubtful  of  the  lawful  use  of 
the  cross,"  though  clear  as  to  the  "unlawful"  cutting. 

283 


Hearths  and  Homes 

It  is  the  fashion  to  say  that  there  were  no  lawyers 
here  in  the  early  days.  Winthrop  and  Downing 
were  bred  in  the  legal  profession,  and  we  judge,  apt 
scholars  in  the  legal  science.  The  ancient  historian, 
Prince,  says  of  John  Winthrop  :  "  He  had  an  agree- 
able education,  but  the  accomplishments  of  a  lawyer 
were  those  wherewith  heaven  made  his  chief  oppor- 
tunities to  be  serviceable."  The  lawyers  played  an 
important  part  in  the  founding  of  the  Colony,  and 
in  framing  the  code  of  laws  founded  on  the  laws  of 
Moses,  rather  than  on  those  of  England.  The  learn- 
ing of  William  H.  Whitmore,  record  commissioner  of 
the  City  of  Boston,  has  so  swept  away  the  cobwebs 
of  ages,  that  we  can  see  clearly  that  the  evolution 
of  our  laws,  contrary  to  the  common  belief,  is  due  to 
men  trained  to  the  law,  rather  than  in  the  pulpit. 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Ward,  of  Ipswich,  the  nowr  recognized 
author  of  the  "  Body  of  Liberties,"  was  graduated 
at  Emmanuel  College,  Cambridge,  A.M.,  in  1603. 
He  studied  and  practised  law,  and  Candler  says  he 
was  an  "  utter  barrister."  Governor  Richard  Belling- 
ham,  of  the  magistrates,  who,  after  Ward,  had  the 
greatest  share  in  the  work,  was  bred  a  lawyer,  and 
was  recorder  of  Boston  in  England,  from  1625  to 
1633 ;  hence  his  fit  and  natural  connection  with  the 
first  compilation  of  our  laws. 

It  will  do  no  harm  for  the  student  of  our  early 
days  to  investigate,  with  the  understanding  that  all 
virtue  and  all  knowledge  are  not  to  be  found  in  the 
musty  tomes  and  often  pedantic  long-windedness  of 
the  divines  who  did  most  of  the  writing  and  talking. 

884 


of  Old  Lynn 

The  lawyers  were  employed  to  throw  dust  in  the 
eyes  of  prerogative  and  shield  the  Colony,  while  the 
ministers  fought  the  devil  and  Christianized  the 
Indian  in  the  new  journey  to  the  promised  land. 

Then,  on  December  12,  1634,  Winthrop  writes  to 
his  son  John,  another  lawyer,  at  the  house  of  his 
uncle  Downing,  in  Lincoln  Fields,  near  the  Golden 
Lion  Tavern,  London,  to  apprise  him  of  the  action 
of  the  magistrates. 

"We  met  last  week  to  consider  the  business  of 
the  ensign  at  Salem,  and  have  written  a  letter  to 
my  brother  Downing,  wherein  under  our  hands,  we 
signify  our  dislike  to  the  action  and  our  purpose  to 
punish  the  offenders." 

Next,  under  date  M.  1,  4,  1634,  Winthrop's  journal 
says :  - 

"Mr.  Endicott  was  called  to  answer  for  defacing 
the  cross  in  the  ensign,  but  because  the  court  could 
not  agree  about  the  thing,  whether  the  ensign  should 
be  laid  by,  in  regard  that  many  refused  to  follow 
them,  the  whole  cause  was  deferred  to  the  next 
general  court ;  and  commissioners  for  military  affairs 
gave  order,  in  the  meantime,  that  all  the  ensigns 
should  be  laid  aside,"  etc. 

Downing,  in  England,  was  cannily  representing 
the  devotion  of  the  Colony,  while  the  council,  here, 
was  deferring  to  the  next  General  Court,  and  in  the 
meantime,  ordering  all  the  ensigns  to  be  laid  aside  ! 
Surely,  our  fathers  did  not  love  that  red  cross  ensign 
even  then. 

285 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Next,  came  the  General  Court  at  Newtown,  Mo.  3,  6, 
1635.  Mr.  Haynes  was  chosen  Governor,  and  Mr.  Bell- 
ingham,  Deputy,  and  Winthrop  relates  the  trial  and 
punishment  of  Endicott. 

"  Mr.  Endicott  was  left  out  of  the  board  of  assis- 
tants, and  called  into  question  about  the  defacing  of 
the  cross  in  the  ensign  :  and  a  committee  was  chosen 
viz. :  every  town  chose  one  (which  yet  were  voted  by 
all  the  people,)  and  the  magistrates  chose  four,  who, 
taking  the  charge  to  consider  of  the  offence,  and 
the  censure  due  to  it,  and  to  certify  the  court,  after 
one  or  two  hours  time,  made  report  to  the  court, 
that  they  found  his  offence  to  be  great,  viz.,  rash 
and  without  discretion,  taking  upon  him  more  author- 
ity than  he  had,  and  not  seeking  advice  of  the  court, 
etc.—  uncharitable  in  that  he,  judging  the  cross,  etc., 
to  be  a  sin,  did  content  himself  to  have  reformed  it  at 
Salem,  not  taking  care  that  others  might  be  brought 
out  of  it  also  :  laying  a  blemish  upon  the  rest  of  the 
magistrates,  as  if  they  would  suffer  idolatry  etc.,  and 
giving  occasion  to  the  state  of  England  to  think  ill 
of  us :  for  which  they  adjudged  him  worthy  of 
admonition,  and  to  be  disabled  for  one  year  from 
bearing  any  public  office :  declining  any  heavier 
sentence  because  they  were  persuaded  he  did  it  out 
of  tenderness  of  conscience  and  not  of  any  evil 
intent" 

The  reasons  given  for  condemning  Endicott  give 
many  hints  as  to  the  workings  of  the  Puritan  intel- 
lect. The  grave  magistrates  were  much  of  the  same 
mind  as  he  in  regard  to  the  "  sin  "  of  the  cross,  but 
they  deemed  him  "  uncharitable,"  in  that  he  attempted 
to  make  the  reform  on  his  own  account  and  laid  a 


of  Old  Lynn 

blemish  upon  his  associates,  "  as  if  they  would  suffer 
idolatry,"  etc.  How  much  their  own  pricked  con- 
sciences were  offended  by  Endicott's  forwardness  we 
can  only  surmise  from  the  nature  of  their  censure. 
Endicott  was  nominally  disgraced  as  a  sop  to  the 
dragon  beyond  the  ocean. 

As  soon  as  the  king  was  muzzled  so  that  he  could 
do  no  harm  to  the  Colony,  Endicott,  in  1641,  became 
Deputy  Governor  and  then  Governor.  Endicott  died 
March  15,  1665,  in  office,  having  served  longer  than 
any  other  Colonial  Governor  before  or  after  him,  and 
with  the  single  exception  of  1635,  the  year  after 
the  flag  episode,  having  been  a  magistrate  since  he 
landed  at  Salem,  in  1628,  as  Governor  of  the  Salem 
Plantation.  Endicott  shares  with  Winthrop  and 
Dudley  the  unique  distinction  of  having  been  a 
member  of  the  standing  council,  the  only  executive 
office  for  life  ever  created  in  the  Colony.  Winthrop 
and  Dudley  were  so  chosen  May  25,  1636,  Endicott, 
May  17,  1637,  "but  none  others  were  ever  added." 

John  Endicott  was  as  distinctively  the  captain  of 
Massachusetts  as  Miles  Standish  was  of  Plymouth. 
John  Endicott,  at  Salem,  was  as  truly  the  militant 
head  of  the  Colony  as  was  John  Winthrop  its  civic 
ruler,  as  long  as  the  latter  lived ;  then  Endicott 
assumed  both  functions.  Endicott  was  bold,  impet- 
uous, a  scorner  of  subterfuges.  Winthrop  was  cool, 
politic,  with  an  eye  across  the  water,  alert  to  guard 
the  infant  Colony  from  arousing  the  wrath  of  the  king. 

If  Endicott  had  waited  nine  years,  his  "  rash  "  act 
would  have  been  approved  by  every  man  in  the 

287 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Colony,  including  the  prudent  Winthrop  and  his  legal 
correspondent,  Brother  Downing,  formerly  of  the 
Inner  Temple,  but  now  of  Salem.  Roger  Williams 
and  John  Endicott  were  in  the  advance  guard  of 
Puritan  thinkers,  who,  in  England,  would  have  been 
chaplain  and  captain  among  the  invincible  Ironsides. 
Within  a  few  years  their  brethren  at  home  —  the 
most  devout  generation  of  Englishmen  the  world 
ever  saw  —  under  the  leadership  of  the  greatest  all- 
around  man  that  the  English-speaking  race  ever  pro- 
duced —  Oliver  Cromwell  —  were  tearing  down  every 
cross  in  the  mother  country.  On  the  4th  of  May, 
1643,  as  Carlyle  says :  "  Cheapside  Cross,  Charing 
Cross,  and  other  monuments  of  popish  idolatry  were 
torn  down  by  authority,  troops  of  soldiers  sounding 
their  trumpets  and  all  the  people  shouting." 

Endicott  simply  did  an  act  which  all  earnest  men 
approved  in  their  hearts,  and  antedated  like  scenes 
in  England.  Endicott's  soldiers  were  godly  men, 
saturated  with  the  Puritan  dread  of  Rome.  Under 
the  Stuart  they  had  felt  the  deadly  night-shade. 
They  had  braved  the  perils  of  the  trackless  ocean 
to  avoid  its  contact.  They  were  fighting  novel 
dangers  in  a  new  world  with  savage  foes  and  mys- 
terious forces  all  about  them.  They  thought  it  an 
ill  omen  to  go  forth  to  battle  under  the  blood-stained 
emblem  of  popery. 

It  has  been  one  of  the  mysteries  how  Endicott,  the 
straightest  Puritan  of  all  the  Puritans,  and  Roger 
Williams,  the  kindly  founder  of  Rhode  Island,  should 
have  been  one  in  their  feeling  in  this  matter,  and 

288 


of  Old  Lynn 

both  under  the  ban  together  for  the  same  offence. 
This  little  incident  furnished  the  first  opportunity 
that  the  authorities  had  to  get  a  civil  grip  upon 
Williams.  The  other  troubles  were  ecclesiastical. 
To  put  it  in  the  words  of  Hutchinson  :  — 

"  But  what  gave  just  occasion  to  the  civil  power 
to  interpose  was  his  (Roger  Williams)  influencing 
Mr.  Endicott,  one  of  the  magistrates  and  a  member 
of  his  church,  to  cut  the  cross  out  of  the  king's 
colors,  as  being  a  relic  of  anti-Christian  superstition." 

Williams  had  advised  Endicott  to  outrage  the 
ensign  of  royalty.  That  was  verging  upon  high 
treason,  if  there  had  been  any  such  crime  as  high 
treason  known  to  our  fathers.  But  there  was  no 
such  crime  in  the  laws  of  Moses,  and  consequently 
such  an  offence  is  not  mentioned  in  the  "Body  of 
Liberties,"  which  was  formulated  a  few  years  later, 
in  1641.  There  was  also  a  subtler  reason  why  treason 
did  not  appear  in  their  code  of  laws,  which  soon  found 
ample  expression  in  regicide  across  the  water.  The 
divine  rights  of  kings  were  not  to  be  bolstered  up  by 
maintaining  a  favorite  crime  in  the  statutes  of  the  free 
commonwealth.  Hutchinson  says  in  his  history  that 
high  treason  is  not  mentioned.  Before  the  colonists 
had  agreed  upon  the  body  of  laws,  the  king's  author- 
ity in  England  was  at  an  end  ;  conspiracy  to  invade 
their  own  commonwealth,  or  any  treacherous,  per- 
fidious attempt  to  alter  and  subvert  fundamentally 
the  frame  of  their  polity  and  government  was  made 
a  capital  offence. 

289 


19 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Again  the  not  too  friendly  Hutchinson  relates  :  - 

"  Many  of  the  proposals  were  such  as  to  imply  that 
they  thought  themselves  at  free  liberty,  without  any 
charter  from  the  crown,  to  establish  such  sort  of 
government  as  they  thought  proper,  and  to  form  a 
new  state  as  fully  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  if 
they  had  been  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  were  making 
their  first  entrance  into  civil  society." 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Laud)  kept  a  jealous 
eye  over  New  England.  One  Burdett,  of  Piscataqua, 
was  a  correspondent  of  his.  A  copy  of  a  letter  to  the 
archbishop  written  by  Burdett  was  found  in  his  study, 
and  is  to  this  effect,  viz. :  - 

"  That  he  delayed  going  to  England  that  he  might 
fully  inform  himself  of  the  state  of  the  place  as  to 
allegiance,  for  it  was  not  new  discipline  which  was 
aimed  at,  but  sovereignty,  and  that  it  was  accounted 
perjury  and  treason  in  their  general  court  to  speak 
of  appeals  to  the  king." 

Laud  thanked  him  for  his  care,  and  promised  to 
redress  the  disorder.  But  before  long  the  arch- 
bishop's own  disorders  and  those  of  his  royal  master 
were  redressed. 

In  all  the  records  that  come  down  to  us  from  the 
early  days,  there  is  manifest,  in  spite  of  all  masks, 
a  purpose  to  create  a  free  Puritan  commonwealth 
in  New  England.  The  unlooked-for  triumph  of  Par- 
liament and  Cromwell  over  king-craft  and  priest- 
craft in  England  removed  the  pressing  dangers  to 
tender  consciences  and  delayed  absolute  freedom  here 

290 


of  Old  Lynn 

for  later  generations.  Another  century  was  to  see 
independence  accomplished,  not  on  account  of  king 
or  church,  but  upon  the  question  equally  vital  of 
taxation  without  representation.  Endicott's  bold  act, 
from  the  earnest  Puritan  standpoint,  was  a  blazing 
torch,  which  pointed  the  way  in  the  heroic  age  when, 
under  the  God  of  Moses,  England's  best  and  bravest 
tore  away  forever  the  illusions  from  pinchbeck  roy- 
alty and  formalist  prelacy. 


291 


-A. 


HIGH   ROCK  TOWER. 


JHREE  years  ago,  during  Mayor  Shepherd's 
administration,  I  expected  to  be  called  upon 
to  take  part  in  the  dedication  of  High  Rock 
to  the  people.  The  then  Mayor,  the  City  Council 
and  the  Park  Commissioners,  were  content  with  what 
had  then  been  accomplished. 

The  present  City  Council  has  completed  the  title 
and  crowned  the  spot  with  an  edifice  of  interest  to 
student  and  sightseer. 

As  people  of  my  time  of  life  are  not  apt  to  improve 
in  expression,  perhaps  I  cannot  do  better  than  to  give 
the  substance  of  my  deferred  talk  upon  this  auspicious 
day. 

I  should  then  have  said  - 

All  that  is  essential  of  the  High  Rock  property, 
with  suitable  approaches  (save  a  little  slice  of  the 
face  of  the  rock),  is  now  in  the  keeping  of  the 
present  and  future  Lynn.  It  has  been  reserved  for 
you,  sir,  to  still  forever  the  controversies  of  the  past  as 
to  range  lines,  and  to  round  out  the  people's  domain. 

Napoleon  said  that  England  was  a  nation  of  shop- 
keepers. The  phrase  became  an  aphorism,  though 

1  Dedication  of  High  Rock  Tower,  December  16,  1905.  Accept- 
ance on  behalf  of  the  Park  Commissioners. 

293 


Hearths  and  Homes 

the  statement  was  as  false  and  mendacious  as  was 
the  life  of  the  sayer.  Foreign  writers  flippantly 
say  that  Americans  worship  the  dollar  in  place  of 


God.  Let  the  action  that  we  note  refute  that  lie  so 
far  as  Lynn  is  concerned.  Much  is  said  of  the 
strenuous  life,  of  the  utilitarian  age,  and  of  the 


294 


of  Old  Lynn 

crowding  unrest  of  our  people,  as  if  nothing  else 
was  sought  for  save  commercial  or  material  triumphs 
over  the  rest  of  our  fellows.  Our  fathers  were  of 
a  strenuous  race  and  habit,  as  they  needed  to  be  to 
keep  the  wolf  (either  as  a  metaphor  or  a  fact)  from 
the  door,  in  this  bleak  climate  of  ours.  They  tilled 
the  not  too  rich  soil  in  the  proper  seasons.  They 
fished  upon  the  deep  in  storm  and  sunshine,  and 
they  made  shoes  when  out-of-door  life  was  impossible. 

Lynn  was  the  scene  of  the  first  iron-works  estab- 
lished on  the  soil  of  America.  It  has  long  been 
noted  as  the  seat  of  the  largest  ladies'  shoe  manu- 
facturing output  in  the  world.  Its  name  on  elec- 
trical appliances  has  gone  around  the  globe.  But 
it  was  reserved  for  something  else  to  raise  it  from 
the  plane  of  a  prosperous  manufacturing  centre  to 
that  of  an  aesthetic  community,  appreciating  nature 
and  planning  wisely  for  the  future. 

Lynn  was  the  pioneer  in  the  establishment  of  a 
great  communal  forest,  where,  within  sight  of  the 
landing  place  of  Endicott  and  Winthrop  and  of  all 
the  devoted  Puritans  who  planted  New  England, 
a  promising  attempt  is  being  made  to  restore  a  wild 
woodland  of  pine,  hemlock,  oak,  hickory,  beech,  horn- 
beam and  all  the  other  native  trees  that  have  their 
habitat  upon  our  hillsides  and  valleys. 

We  have  prospered  and  waxed  strong  in  the  hand- 
ling of  leather,  but  in  response  to  the  sneers  of  the 
people  who  say  we  talk  leather,  smell  leather  and 
know  nothing  but  leather,  we  point  to  the  Great 
Woods,  to  Oceanside,  and  then,  perhaps  best  of  all, 

295 


Hearths  and  Homes 

to  old  High  Rock,  once  the  people's  forum  by  suf- 
ferance, now  of  right. 

As  compared  with  our  early  Colonial  neighbors, 
Boston  and  Salem,  we  have  no  occasion  to  blush  for 
the  loss  of  our  outlooks.  The  Beacon  Hill  of  Boston 
has  been  shoveled  down,  and  though  a  superb  State 
House  stands  upon  the  diminished  site,  even  its  gilded 
dome  scarcely  affords  an  outlook  on  account  of  the  sky- 
scraping  modern  buildings  about  it ;  while  Salem's 
proud  Castle  Hill  is  being  blasted  away  by  a  stone- 
crushing  company. 

Those  who  have  ties  of  birthright  or  citizenship  in 
Lynn  can  truly  claim  to  be  associated  with  no  mean 
city.  An  extensive  European  traveler  once  observed 
to  a  man  whose  memory  Lynn  cherishes  as  one  of 
her  historians,  that,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Vesuvius,  the  view  from  High  Rock  excelled  that  at 
the  Bay  of  Naples.  If  this  traveler  had  been  privi- 
leged to  stand  on  Black  Rock,  Nahant,  on  a  summer 
evening  and  watch  the  gorgeous  westering  sun  red- 
dening the  placid  water  of  Lynn  harbor,  gilding  the 
spires  of  the  old  town,  and,  before  it  set  behind  the 
hills  of  Saugus,  bathing  in  oriental  color  and  glori- 
fying the  crown  of  High  Rock,  he  might  in  truth  have 
withdrawn  his  exception  and  pronounced  our  picture 
as  peerless,  as  have  many  other  world-wide  observers. 

Not  grudgingly,  not  moved  by  partisan  clamor,  not 
stirred  by  sectional  pride,  but  actuated  and  inspired 
by  love  of  home  and  of  the  eternal  fitness  of  things, 
looking  upon  the  past  and  into  the  future,  the  city 
dedicates  three  acres  of  this  adamantine  hill  —  this 

296 


HIGH  ROCK  TOWER  (1905) 


of  Old  Lynn 

keystone  of  the  grand  arch  of  Lynn's  sentiment  and 
reverence— to  the  use  of  the  people  for  all  coming  time. 

Mr.  Drake  makes  a  query  and  a  reply,  "Will  it 
pay?"  And  I  say  it  will  pay  in  solid  nuggets  of 
healthful  enjoyment,  even  if  no  higher  aspirations 
are  developed,  in  standing,  where,  at  every  instant, 
man  and  his  works  diminish,  while  those  of  the 
Creator  expand  before  you. 

Other  headlands  there  are  along  our  picturesque 
New  England  coast.  Wherever  a  rocky  barrier  resists 
old  ocean,  from  Bald  Head  Cliff,  in  York,  to  Bailey's 
Hill,  Nahant,  the  angry  waves  battle  with  each  tide. 

Agamenticus  rears  its  lofty  head  as  a  guide  for 
mariners  approaching  the  coast. 

Town  Hill,  Ipswich,  reveals  a  charming  landscape, 
and  in  a  long  reach  the  warning  lights  from  Boone 
to  Squam.  The  Blue  Hills  of  Milton  look  down 
upon  the  Neponset,  and  the  land  the  Indian  loved  so 
well,  and  upon  innumerable  thriving  communities. 
All  these  the  eye  grasps  by  long  sweeps. 

High  Rock  is  a  part  of  us,  is  in  touch  with  every 
pulsation  of  the  people.  It  dominates  Lynn  as  the 
famed  castle  of  Auld  Scotia's  capital,  Edinburgh, 
the  home  of  Burns  and  of  Scott.  We  may  describe 
our  heritage  with  our  own  Whittier  as  "the  land  of 
the  forest  and  the  rock." 

Upon  this  spot  have  stood  all  men  who  desired  to 
see  Lynn,  from  that  June  day  in  1629,  when  Edmund 
and  Francis  Ingalls,  William  Dixey,  and  William  and 
John  Wood  wandered  around  the  coast  from  Endi- 
cott's  colony,  seeking  land  for  a  home.  From  that 

297 


Hearths  and  Homes 

day  to  this  it  has  been  a  Mecca  to  which  the  return- 
ing native  and  the  stranger  within  our  gates  have 
climbed  with  uncovered  heads. 

Mr.  Mayor,  on  behalf  of  the  Park  Commissioners,  I 
accept  the  future  care  of  the  High  Rock  Observatory. 


298 


PART    III 
Hearths    and    Homes   of  Old    Lynn 


INDIVIDUAL    SKETCHES 

Three  men  of  Lynn,  of  the  generation  which  has  passed  away,  have  been 

of  help  to  the  author.    Of  each  an  imperfect  tribute  may 

be  pardoned.     They  were  all  diligent  and 

competent  delvers  in  the  history 

of  the  old  Town  :  — 

JAMES  ROBINSON  NEWHALL 
CYRUS  MASON  TRACY 
SAMUEL  HAWKES 


JAMES  ROBINSON  NEWHALL 


JAMES   ROBINSON  NEWHALL. 


IHE  kind  invitation  to  join  you  at  your  annual 
gathering  upon  Franklin's  birthday  gives  me 
the  fittest  occasion  that  could  occur  to  pay 
a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  your  first  President. 

I  use  the  word  "  fittest"  deliberately,  and  if  you 
have  patience  to  bear  with  me,  and  if  I  make  myself 
intelligible,  you  will  appreciate  why  I  consider  this 
the  place  to  speak  of  your  and  my  life-long  friend. 

James  Robinson  Newhall,  who  died  at  his  home  in 
Lynn,  October  24, 1893,  needs  no  eulogium  from  those 
who  survive  him.  He  has  left  behind  him  a  record 
that  will  shine  when  we  and  our  words,  even  though 
they  should  be  strikingly  brilliant,  shall  be  utterly 
forgotten.  This  will  happen,  not  because  he  was  a 
great  man  in  any  common  acceptation  of  the  term, 
but  mainly  by  virtue  of  the  fact  of  his  making  a 
more  diligent  use  of  the  talent  intrusted  to  him  than 
most  men. 

A  study  of  such  a  life,  so  well  rounded  out  and 
accomplished,  if  even  imperfectly  traced,  cannot  but 
be  an  incentive  to  emulation  by  others. 

To  say  that  he  was  born  of  "poor  but  honest" 

1  A  memorial  address  delivered  before  the  Lynn  Press  Associa- 
tion at  Lynn,  Mass.,  upon  the  anniversary  of  Benjamin  Franklin's 
birthday,  January  17,  1894. 

301 


Hearths  and  Homes 

parents  would  be  but  to  utter  a  truism  which  might 
as  well  be  uttered  of  any  boy  born  in  Lynn  on  Christ- 
mas day,  1809.  Everybody  in  Lynn  then  was  poor, 
if  by  poor  we  mean  the  reverse  of  the  modern  sense 
of  rich  —  that  is,  being  the  holder  of  stocks,  bonds  or 
bank  accounts.  Everybody  was  poor  in  those  days. 
The  States  had  scarcely  rallied  from  the  drain  of 
men  and  means  that  was  occasioned  by  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  when  the  gigantic  struggle  between 
England  and  the  Corsican  marvel  of  war  convulsed 
the  whole  civilized  world.  Between  the  upper  and 
nether  millstones  —  the  common  prey  of  France  and 
England  —  the  growing  commerce  of  the  infant  repub- 
lic was  swept  from  the  seas  and  the  whole  country 
was  impoverished.  Two  years  before,  Congress  had 
closed  the  ports  of  the  United  States  against  the 
clearance  of  all  vessels.  In  the  year  of  his  birth, 
Congress  repealed  the  "  embargo  law  "  and  substituted 
an  act  of  non-intercourse  with  France  and  England. 

The  population  of  Lynn  —  and  Lynn  then  included 
Lynnfield,  Saugus,  Swampscott  and  Nahant  —  at  the 
time  of  his  birth  was  only  about  four  thousand. 
The  people  were  farmers  in  summer  and  shoemakers 
in  winter. 

The  shoes  made  here  in  1810  numbered  one  million 
pairs  and  were  of  the  value  of  $800,000.  By  the 
United  States  census  of  1890,  it  appears  that  the 
aggregate  value  of  goods,  shoes  and  allied  industries, 
amounted  to  over  thirty-one  millions.  This  takes  no 
account  of  the  new  industry,  the  Thomson-Houston 
Electric  Company,  which  in  1892  produced  a  value 

302 


of  Old  Lynn 

of  over  twelve  millions  of  dollars  and  employed,  as 
its  average  number  of  hands  for  the  year,  four  thou- 
sand people,  a  number  equal  to  the  whole  population 
of  the  town  in  1810. 

In  another  and  better  sense  than  the  possession  of 
mere  dollars  by  his  parents,  the  future  writer  of  the 
"Annals  of  Lynn  "  was  fortunate  in  his  birth.  With 
a  modest  pride  in  the  stock  from  which  he  sprang  - 
without  which  he  would  have  been  unfitted  for  what 
was  destined  to  be  his  magnum  opus  —  he  said,  in  an 
autobiographical  sketch,  his  father's  name  was  Ben- 
jamin and  he  was  a  direct  descendant  from  Thomas, 
the  first  white  person  born  here.  His  mother  was  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Hart,  who  descended  from  Samuel, 
one  of  the  first  engaged  at  the  ancient  Iron  Works. 
Both  of  his  grandmothers  were  granddaughters  of 
Hon.  Ebenezer  Burrill,  a  man  conspicuous  in  Colo- 
nial times  and  brother  of  the  beloved  speaker. 

In  the  old  Hart  house,  as  in  many  another  on  the 
old  Colonial  highway  between  Salem  and  Boston, 
was  an  open  attic,  with  boxes  and  barrels  filled  with 
quaint  and  curious  manuscripts  that  the  previous 
generations  of  occupants  had  left  behind  them.  They 
were  apparently  of  no  value,  yet  they  might  be  title 
deeds,  or  plans,  or  diaries,  or  papers  that  some  time 
might  be  called  for.  So  they  were  bundled  away 
into  the  unused  lumber  room  —  nesting  places  or 
food  for  mice  —  till  some  charmingly  loquacious  Old- 
buck  of  Monkbarns  or  an  inquisitive  boy  should 
disturb  their  dusty  recess. 

Reminiscences  of  the  earlier  days  lingered  about 

303 


Hearths  and  Homes 

this  old  house  when  the  Judge  came  upon  the  scene. 
Travelers  belated  or  hungry  on  the  way  from  Boston 
to  the  East  often  found  shelter  and  food  beneath  its 
roof.  The  epicurean  Judge,  Samuel  Sewall  of  the 
witchcraft  time,  has  recorded  in  his  diary  his  enter- 
tainment here  on  several  occasions.  Other  guests  of 
eminence  lingered  under  the  branches  of  the  great 
buttonwood  in  the  yard,  partook  of  the  good  cheer 
within  the  house  and  discussed  current  topics.  Some 
of  the  accumulating  paper  litter  that  probably  troubled 
the  careful  housewife,  though  she  did  not  venture  to 
burn  anything  of  writing,  may  have  been  left  by 
guests,  and  thus  have  had  a  wider  than  mere  local 
interest. 

How  much  the  subject  of  our  sketch  found  in  the 
attic  he  never  told  anyone,  but  was  apparently  willing 
through  his  life  for  the  matter  to  remain  an  open 
question  to  mystify  his  readers.  I  have,  however, 
more  than  a  strong  suspicion  that  he  derived  nothing 
from  the  dead  written  hand. 

At  the  age  of  eleven,  as  he  wrote,  he  left  the 
parental  roof  with  his  worldly  possessions  in  a  bundle- 
handkerchief  to  make  his  way  in  the  wide  world, 
his  mother  having  died  a  year  or  two  before,  and 
his  father  having  a  large  family  to  provide  for. 

Before  he  was  fifteen  years  old  he  had  made  his 
way  into  the  office  of  the  Salem  Gazette  —  the  leading 
newspaper  establishment  in  the  County  —  and  was 
diligently  learning  the  art  and  mystery  of  printing. 
Seventy  years  later  he  was  true  to  his  first  love  and 
it  was  still  his  work  and  recreation  to  set  type. 

304 


of  Old  Lynn 

We  talk  about  trades  nowadays  ;  but  the  old  phrase 
"  art  and  mystery  "  is  vastly  more  appropriate,  when 
we  allude  to  the  assembling  of  little  pieces  of  lead  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  result  is  the  expression  of  the 
best  thought  of  the  brain  of  man  on  the  fair-printed 
page.  Where  else  are  the  brain-work  and  the  hand- 
work so  blended  in  such  close  touch,  as  when  deft 
fingers  transform  bits  of  dull  lead  into  golden  thoughts 
that  may  be  immortal  ? 

From  the  Gazette  office,  seeking  a  wider  knowledge 
of  book  printing  than  our  County  then  afforded,  he 
went  to  Boston,  where,  before  he  had  reached  his 
majority,  he  became  foreman  of  one  of  the  principal 
book  establishments.  One  of  his  duties  in  this  office 
was  that  of  proof-reader  —  an  important  step  in  the 
practical  training  which  was  to  fit  him  for  authorship. 

A  proof-reader  holds  a  delicate  and  responsible 
position.  Upon  his  shoulders  the  public  pile  errors 
of  omission  and  commission,  of  compositor  and  author, 
bad  spelling,  bad  grammar,  bad  rhetoric,  bad  punctua- 
tion, bad  spacing  and  the  myriad  flaws  that  creep  into 
printed  matter  unless  the  proof-reader  is  Argus-eyed. 

In  the  latest  batch  of  published  letters  of  Horace 
Greeley,  there  is  one  addressed  to  a  young  man 
who  aspired  to  the  position  of  a  proof-reader  on  the 
Tribune.  Here  is  Mr.  Greeley's  appreciative  tribute 
to  the  occupation  of  a  proof-reader,  in  reply  to  the 
application :  - 

"As  to  proof-reading,  I  think  a  first-rate  proof- 
reader could  always  find  a  place  in  our  concern  within 

305 


Hearths  and  Homes 

a  month.  But  the  place  requires  far  more  than 
you  can  learn ;  it  requires  an  universal  knowledge 
of  facts,  names  and  spelling.  Do  you  happen  to 
know  off-hand  that  Stephens  of  Georgia  spells  his 
name  with  a  'ph'  and  Stevens  of  Michigan  with  a 
*v'  in  the  middle?  Do  you  know  that  Eliot  of 
Massachusetts  has  but  one  '!'  in  his  name,  while 
Elliot  in  Kentucky  has  two  ?  Do  you  know  the  poli- 
tics and  prejudices  of  Oliver  of  Missouri,  and  Oliver 
of  New  York,  respectively,  so  well  that  when  your 
proof  says  '  Mr.  Oliver '  said  so  and  so  in  the  House, 
you  know  whether  to  insert  'of  Mo.'  or  'of  N.Y.' 
after  his  name?  Would  you  choose  to  strike  out 
'of  Mo/  and  put  in  'of  N.Y./  if  you  perceive  the 
speech  taking  a  particular  direction  respecting  slav- 
ery, which  shows  that  it  must  be  wrongly  attributed 
in  the  telegraphic  dispatch?  My  friend,  if  you  are 
indeed  qualified  for  a  first-rate  proof-reader,  or  can 
easily  make  yourself  so,  you  need  never  fear.  But 
do  n't  fancy  the  talent  and  knowledge  required  for 
a  mere  secretary  of  state,  president,  or  any  such 
trust,  will  be  sufficient." 

In  the  Boston  office,  the  young  Newhall  was  in 
touch  and  familiar  with  such  men  as  Dr.  Channing, 
Dr.  Bowditch,  Francis  J.  Grund,  the  Cambridge  pro- 
fessors, N.  P.  Willis,  Samuel  S.  Goodrich  and  other 
literary  celebrities  of  the  time,  of  whom  he  treasured 
many  pleasant  reminiscences  which  he  had  in  manu- 
script and  was  preparing  to  publish  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

Like  other  young  printers  of  the  earlier  days,  he 
was  somewhat  of  a  rover.  From  Boston  he  went  to 
New  York.  In  the  Conference  office  of  that  city, 

306 


of  Old  Lynn 

then  the  largest  in  the  country,  he  had  the  reputation 
of  being  the  fastest  compositor  in  the  office. 

In  New  York  he  did  editorial  work,  and  in  that  city 
he  learned  much  from  the  advice  and  friendly  counsels 
of  Major  M.  M.  Noah,  long  known  as  the  Nestor  of  the 
American  Press. 

Those  of  the  present  generation  who  have  seen  the 
Judge  on  the  Bench  of  the  Police  Court,  or  assisting 
in  the  offices  of  his  beloved  church,  or  in  social  gath- 
erings, or  walking  about  our  streets,  can  scarcely 
realize  the  Bohemian  life  with  which  it  was  his  for- 
tune to  mingle  in  his  early  manhood. 

Bearing  in  mind  that  he  was  free  from  the  venial 
faults  of  youth,  that  all  his  life  he  was  pure  in  thought 
and  act,  it  sounds  like  romance  to  relate  that  one  of 
his  companions  in  midnight  strolls  in  New  York  was 
the  "  Good  Gray  Poet,"  he  who  wrote  "  My  Captain," 
that  eloquent  lament  that  marks  the  martyrdom  of 
Lincoln,  in  which  were  these  lines  :  — 

"Exult,  0  shores!  and  ring,  0  bells! 

But  I,  with  mournful  tread, 
Walk  the  deck;  my  captain  lies 
Fallen,  cold  and  dead." 

and  the  same  who  wrote  of  himself  :  — 

' '  Walt  Whitman,  a  kosmos,  of  Manhattan  the  son, 
Turbulent,  fleshy,  sensual,   eating,  drinking,  and 

breeding, 
No    sentimentalist,    no    stander    above  men  and 

women,  or  apart  from  them, 
No  more  modest  than  immodest." 

Like  that  other  printer,  "  Poor  Richard,"  the  world- 
known  philosopher,  whose  birthday  you  proudly 

807 


Hearths  and  Homes 

remember  to-day,  and  like  him,  a  tramping  printer  in 
search  of  a  job,  Mr.  Newhall  wandered  as  far  as 
Philadelphia. 

He  gathered  knowledge  of  men  and  affairs  where- 
ever  he  went.  He  lectured.  He  came  back  to  Lynn 
and  bought  the  Mirror  of  his  friend,  Charles  F. 
Lummus,  the  first  Lynn  printer,  whose  handsome 
face  is  placed  beside  the  author,  facing  the  title 
page  of  the  last  edition  of  the  "History  of  Lynn." 

It  was  in  1832  that  Mr.  Newhall  bought  the  Mirror, 
the  first  paper  printed  in  Lynn.  It  may  be  interesting 
to  those  whose  daily  labor  is  about  the  great  presses 
and  establishments  of  to-day,  to  relate  that  he  paid  two 
hundred  dollars  for  the  whole  establishment,  which, 
as  he  has  recorded,  was  quite  as  much  as  it  was  worth. 

When  we  say  that  the  subscription  list  of  the  Mirror 
amounted  to  about  four  hundred,  which  number  the 
new  Item  press  throws  off  in  a  minute,  and  that  all 
the  work  in  the  office,  jobs,  newspaper  and  all,  could 
be  done  by  the  publisher  and  one  hand,  it  is  easy  to 
see  that  in  those  days  there  was  not  a  mine  of  gold 
or  even  of  silver,  in  a  Lynn  newspaper. 

Not  the  least  of  the  debts  Lynn  owes  to  Mr.  New- 
hall,  is  the  kindly  discriminating  sketch  which  he  has 
given  us  of  Charles  F.  Lummus,  the  first  publisher 
and  editor  of  Lynn. 

The  profession  of  the  law,  in  which  he  settled 
down  at  last,  shows  something  of  the  growth  and 
broadening  of  Lynn  during  the  lifetime  of  one  indi- 
vidual. In  1808,  the  year  before  his  birth,  Lynn's  first 
lawyer  came  to  town.  This  was  Benjamin  Merrill. 

308 


of  Old  Lynn 

He  remained  here,  however,  only  a  few  months,  when 
he  removed  to  Salem,  where  he  became  an  eminent 
and  respected  practitioner.  In  1845,  Harvard  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D. 

Of  his  leaving  Lynn,  Mr.  Newhall  has  recorded :  — 

"  The  occasion  of  his  removal  from  Lynn,  as  he 
informed  me,  a  few  years  before  his  death,  was 
somewhat  singular.  A  deputation  of  the  citizens 
called  on  him  with  the  request  that  he  would  leave 
the  place,  it  being  apprehended  that  evil  and  strife 
would  abound  wherever  a  lawyer's  tent  was  pitched. 
He  took  the  matter  in  good  part  and  soon  departed. 
The  people  of  Lynn  afterward  made  some  amends 
for  their  uncivil  proceeding,  by  entrusting  a  large 
share  of  their  best  legal  business  to  his  hands.  He 
served  them  faithfully,  and  never  seemed  to  enter- 
tain the  least  ill  feeling  towards  any  here.  He  died 
lamented  by  a  large  circle  who  had  received  benefits 
at  his  hand,  and  left  a  considerable  estate.  He  was 
never  married,  wrhich  seemed  the  more  singular,  as 
he  was  eminently  social  in  his  habits." 

In  May,  1847,  thirty-eight  years  later,  when  Mr. 
Newhall  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  at  an  age  when 
most  lawyers  are  at  the  period  of  greatest  activity, 
there  were  only  three  lawyers  in  practice  here.  They 
were  Jeremiah  C.  Stickney,  Benjamin  F.  Mudge  and 
Thomas  B.  Newhall. 

Though  few  in  number  they  were  each  able  in  their 
special  lines  of  work.  Mr.  Mudge,  who  was  the  second 
Mayor  of  Lynn,  had  an  extensive  practice,  but  his 
love  for  science  was  greater  than  that  for  the  law, 
and  he  went  West  and  became  Professor  of  Geology 

309 


Hearths  and  Homes 

and  Associated  Sciences,  in  the  State  Agricultural 
College  of  Kansas. 

Hon.  Thomas  B.  Newhall,  the  last  of  the  three, 
became  Judge  of  the  Lynn  Police  Court  upon  its 
creation  in  1849.  At  the  same  time,  Benjamin  F. 
Mudge  and  James  R.  Newhall  were  commissioned  as 
special  justices.  Mr.  T.  B.  Newhall,  through  a  long 
life,  adorned  other  positions  of  trust,  such  as  the 
presidency  of  the  Lynn  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany and  the  Lynn  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank.  He 
has  the  unique  position  of  being  the  only  man  ever 
elected  Mayor  of  Lynn,  who  declined  the  office.  This 
happened  in  1854.  He  was  then  in  the  office  of 
Judge  of  the  Police  Court,  and  rightly  conceiving 
the  two  positions  to  be  incompatible,  he  declined  the 
political  office. 

Almost  the  last  appearance  in  public  of  James  R. 
Newhall,  certainly  the  last  when  the  members  of  the 
Bar  were  with  him,  was  at  the  funeral  of  his  prede- 
cessor as  Judge  —  the  Hon.   Thomas  B.  Newhall  - 
a  few  weeks  before  his  own  death. 

Mr.  Stickney  was,  however,  Mr.  NewhalPs  particular 
friend.  In  his  office  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  law 
in  1844.  For  him  he  had  a  strong  admiration  which 
almost  had  the  character  of  the  awe  with  which 
Mr.  Stickney  impressed  younger  people  and  indeed 
most  people  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

Mr.  Stickney  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard.  He 
spent  forty  years  in  Lynn,  in  active  and  successful 
practice  of  law.  He  was  devoted  to  his  profession. 
He  might  have  been  a  Judge  ;  he  declined  to  accept 

310 


of  Old  Lynn 

the  office  of  U.  S.  District  Attorney  for  Massachu- 
setts tendered  him  by  President  Jackson.  He  only 
accepted  such  positions  as  would  not  interfere  with 
his  home  work.  He  served  in  the  General  Court  - 
that  excellent  training  school  for  lawyers  —  two  terms. 
He  was  our  postmaster  for  fifteen  years,  then  a 
position  which  added  to  the  income  without  filching 
much  time  from  business.  He  was  the  adviser  of 
Mayor  Hood  and  the  authorities  when  we  took  on 
the  forms  of  city  government ;  and,  when  the  office 
was  created  in  1853,  he  was  chosen  as  City  Solicitor. 

The  lives  of  Mr.  Newhall  and  Mr.  Stickney  afford 
a  striking  example  of  the  utter  transitoriness  of  the 
lawyer's  fame.  Men,  even  now  scarcely  past  middle 
life,  can  recall  the  adroit,  persuasive,  thoroughly 
equipped,  eminently  courteous  and  courtly  Stickney. 
It  is  far  within  the  line  of  truth  to  say  that  he  was 
as  able  an  all-round  lawyer  as  ever  practised  in  Lynn. 

Mr.  Newhall,  himself,  would  unquestionably  have 
placed  Mr.  Stickney  as  the  brightest  legal  luminary 
of  Lynn,  and  have  put  a  very  deprecatory  estimate 
upon  his  own  rank.  Yet  such  is  the  irony  of  fate 
that  the  student,  who  evolved  quaint  stories  of  the 
early  days  from  his  brain  and  put  them  into  type,  will, 
by  virtue  of  such  writing,  ever  be  known  as  a  lawyer, 
while  the  man  who  led  the  Bar  will  not  leave  even 
a  tradition  after  another  generation  has  passed  away. 

Law  was  not  Mr.  Newhall's  first  love  nor  his  last. 
Several  reasons  induced  him  to  essay  the  profession. 
He  was  a  first-class  printer,  he  was  a  trained  editorial 
writer ;  he  was  desirous  of  writing  the  Annals  of 

311 


Lynn  ;  he  had  a  mission  to  preserve  the  traditions  of 
his  native  town ;  there  was  no  money  in  journalism 
in  the  Lynn  of  his  day  and  capital  was  lacking  to 
accomplish  his  projected  work.  Law,  at  least  in 
those  days,  was  an  eminently  respectable  calling,  an 
occupation  for  gentlemen,  and  the  successful  career 
of  his  friend  Stickney  was  an  incentive  for  him 
to  try  it.  He  established  a  good  practice  and  was 
enabled  to  publish  "  Lin,  or  Jewels  of  the  Third  Plan- 
tation "  in  1862,  and  the  "  History  of  Lynn,"  embody- 
ing and  continuing  the  work  of  Alonzo  Lewis,  in  1865. 

In  1866,  Thomas  B.  Newhall  resigned  his  commission 
as  Justice  of  the  Lynn  Police  Court,  and  Governor 
Bullock  appointed  James  R.  Newhall  to  the  position. 

The  Bar  of  Lynn,  when  Mr.  Newhall  became  Justice 
of  the  Police  Court,  was  represented  by  .the  witty  but 
erratic  Isaac  Brown,  who  had  an  office  on  Chestnut 
Street ;  William  Rowland,  the  careful  conveyancer, 
at  the  corner  of  Munroe  and  Market  Streets ;  Judge 
Thomas  B.  Newhall,  who,  upon  resigning  the  judge- 
ship,  established  an  office  in  the  Ashcroft  Building, 
at  the  corner  of  Market  and  Tremont  Streets ;  Dean 
Peabody,  now  Clerk  of  the  Courts,  located  in  Frazier's 
Building,  corner  of  Market  and  Summer  Streets ; 
Jeremiah  C.  Stickney  and  Minot  Tirrell,  Jr.,  in  Central 
Square ;  Eben  Parsons,  returned  from  meritorious 
service  in  the  army,  also  located  about  that  time  on 
Union  Street ;  as  well  as  your  humble  servant  in 
Hill's  Building. 

What  proportion  of  influence  in  attaining  this 
position  was  derived  from  his  gentle  and  eminently 

312 


of  Old  Lynn 

respectable  life,  his  attainments  as  a  lawyer,  or  the 
reputation  acquired  from  his  books,  it  is  useless  to 
speculate.  The  office,  which  was  for  life  unless  sooner 
resigned,  gave  to  him,  freed  from  the  uncertainties 
of  the  practice  of  the  law,  a  respectable  income  and 
allowed  sufficient  leisure  to  prosecute  and  accomplish 
his  literary  work. 

In  1879,  he  was  seventy  years  old  and  resigned  his 
commission.  Quiet,  sedate  old  Lynn  had  vanished. 
A  modern,  hustling  city  with  its  ruder  manners  and 
babel  of  tongues  had  taken  its  place.  The  mild, 
scholarly,  white-haired  Judge  found  the  atmosphere 
and  concomitants  of  the  new-style  police  court  to  be 
distasteful  and  discordant  to  a  man  of  refined  tastes 
and  gentle  ways. 

He  retired  with  the  respect  of  all  the  good  people 
of  Lynn.  Thence  on,  for  thirteen  years,  he  lived— till 
the  great  change  came  —  a  serene  yet  busy  life.  His 
working  hours  were  devoted  to  fresh  literary  compo- 
sition and  in  bringing  out  new  editions  of  his  "  History" 
and  "  Lin." 

In  1883,  being  then  seventy-three  years  old,  he 
made  the  grand  tour  abroad,  visiting  the  famous 
cities  and  renowned  places  in  Europe,  and  extending 
his  trip  to  interesting  levantine  points ;  to  Algiers 
and  Malta  on  the  Mediterranean ;  and  to  Alexandria, 
Cairo  and  the  Pyramids  in  Egypt. 

It  was  an  eminently  satisfactory  episode  in  his  life. 
Concerning  it  he  wrote :  "  Though  the  tour  was 
undertaken  alone  —  for  if  alone  one  can,  without  let 
or  hinderance,  go  how,  when  and  where  he  pleases  - 

313 


Hearths  and  Homes 

he  everywhere  received  such  gratifying  civilities  as 
could  only  lead  to  regrets  that  he  had  not  earlier  in 
life  thus  experimentally  learned  that,  after  all,  men 
everywhere  will,  on  the  whole,  rather  contribute  to 
make  others  happy  than  miserable.  Such  experience 
increases  faith  in  human  nature,  and  ought  to  diminish 
self-conceit." 

Fittingly,  many  years  ago  (1854),  the  Judge  selected 
an  historic  spot  for  his  home.  Sadler's  Rock  perpet- 
uates the  name  of  the  first  settler  in  the  locality,  and 
of  Lynn's  first  Clerk  of  the  Writs.  Upon  the  south- 
western slope  of  this  spur  of  porphyry,  out  of  the 
adamantine  material  of  the  hill  itself,  Mr.  Newhall 
erected  the  conspicuous  mansion  which  overhangs 
the  old  town,  as  picturesque  as  a  Norman  keep  of 
feudal  England. 

Environment  counts  for  something.  Mr.  Newhall 
was  not  exempt  from  the  rule  that  they  who  love  most 
suif  er  most.  He  lost,  by  early  death,  a  promising  boy, 
his  only  child.  Thence  on,  his  ambition  was  to  leave 
to  posterity  a  worthy  portrayal  of  the  ancient  town. 

Fortunately  for  us,  he  did  not  have  to  hurry  his 
work.  Years  of  peace  and  comfort  were  granted 
him  to  dwell  in  that  lofty  aerie  —  to  watch  the  sun 
rise  over  old  High  Rock  and  set  beyond  the  Saugus 
hills,  and  observe  the  growth  of  Lynn,  while  he  stood 
at  the  case  in  his  cosy  work-room  and  set  his  own 
type,  from  which  more  than  two  thousand  stereo- 
typed pages  remain  to  attest  the  character  of  the 
recreations  of  his  leisure  hours. 

How  much  of  our  civic  life  one  long  life  covers ! 

314 


of  Old  Lynn 

Lynn  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Bay  towns,  yet  this  life 
shows  how  much  of  our  growth  has  been  in  the  present 
century.  We  have  shown  our  friend  to  have  been  the 
co-worker  and  associate  with  the  first  lawyer  who  put 
out  his  shingle  here  and  with  the  first  printer  who  set 
up  his  venerable  Ramage  press,  which,  the  Judge  said, 
looked  as  if  Franklin  might  have  worked  at  it. 

The  book  which  has  inseparably  linked  together 
the  names  of  Alonzo  Lewis  and  James  R.  Newhall, 
and  has  become  a  standard  household  necessity  with 
our  people,  is  called  the  "  History  of  Lynn."  It  is  a 
work  that  bears  testimony  to  laborious  research  on 
the  part  of  its  compilers,  especially  of  Mr.  Lewis, 
who,  in  addition  to  antiquarian  tastes,  had  a  quality 
which  is  not  usually  allied  with  delving  into  the 
past.  Mr.  Lewis  had  the  imaginative  organ  largely 
developed,  as  the  phrenologist  would  say.  If  he  had 
written  much  history  he  might  have  indulged  in  what 
is  called  in  rhyme,  poetic  license,  and  is  there  allow- 
able, but  which  in  prose,  and  particularly  in  historic 
composition,  is  not  permitted. 

Except  the  introductory  descriptive  chapters,  this 
work  is  not  history  in  its  broad  sense,  that  is,  a  state- 
ment of  the  birth,  growth  and  progress  of  the  place, 
with  philosophical  inquiries  respecting  causes  and 
effects,  but  just  what  it  claims  to  be,  the  annals, 
which  are  simply  the  facts  and  events  of  each  year, 
in  strict  chronological  order,  without  observations  by 
the  annalist. 

The  historic  part  of  this  work,  whatever  its  value, 
is  to  be  credited  to  Mr.  Lewis.  Mr.  Newhall  took  the 


Hearths  and  Homes 

"  Annals  "  up  where  Mr.  Lewis  left  them,  that  is,  at 
the  close  of  1843.  Thence  on,  the  work  is  wholly  by 
Mr.  Newhall. 

Critics  may  say  that  the  "  Annals  "  do  not  give  a 
true  perspective  of  historic  events  or  that  things 
trivial  occupy  as  much  space  as  happenings  that  tend 
to  color  and  affect  the  future.  But  that  is  not  the 
fault  of  our  annalist  or  any  annalist ;  it  is  inherent 
in  this  style  of  writing.  The  little  events  occur  as 
well  as  the  great  acts,  and  it  is  the  province  of  the 
annalist  to  be  the  recorder  rather  than  the  inter- 
preter or  the  prophet. 

For  this  kind  of  composition  Mr.  Newhall  was 
peculiarly  well  adapted.  Always  a  lover  of  the  lore 
of  the  ancient  town,  his  training  had  made  him  a 
swift  typesetter,  an  accurate  proof-reader,  and  a 
discriminating  editor.  These  were  the  very  acquire- 
ments that  are  essential  to  him  who  would  patiently, 
from  day  to  day,  and  from  year  to  year,  select  and 
jot  down  the  occurrences  of  the  locality,  and  sift  and 
cull  those  things  which  somebody,  by  and  by,  may 
want  to  know  about.  Steady  as  a  clock  from  his 
very  youth,  methodical  and  painstaking  even  in  the 
smallest  details,  he  not  only  scissored  and  scrap- 
booked  everything  which  his  sharp  eyes  saw,  but  he 
made  an  exhaustive  index,  without  which  such  a 
book,  however  well  written,  is  almost  wholly  value- 
less ;  but  with  which  even  the  dullest  narration  of 
town  life  becomes  of  value  to  the  student. 

In  addition  to  the  "Annals,"  in  the  1865  edition, 
and  more  extensively  in  the  1883  and  1890  volumes, 

316 


of  Old  Lynn 

he  gave  many  slight  biographical  sketches.  The 
habits  and  ways  of  those  who  walked  the  boards  of 
the  stage  before  we  came  upon  the  scenes  have  a 
peculiar  fascination  for  us.  What  he  has  done  in 
this  line  has  been  well  done,  and  much  that  he  has 
recorded  in  this  vein  would  have  been  lost  if  it  had 
not  been  for  his  pen ;  that  is,  the  personal  incidents 
concerning  many  old  worthies  could  not  now  be 
gathered  by  any  living  person.  His  own  life  covered 
a  large  part  of  this  century,  and  his  retentive  memory 
seized  upon  all  that  men,  old  when  the  century  began, 
had  to  relate. 

In  the  History  there  are  few  sins  of  commission. 
Of  course,  there  are  some  sins  of  omission ;  for 
instance,  one  which  was  called  to  my  attention  by 
the  librarian  of  our  public  library,  who  had  occasion 
to  look  for  something  relating  to  one  of  the  foremost 
men  of  Lynn  of  his  time,  one  whom  people  not  yet 
old  can  remember,  a  man  who  held  for  twenty  odd 
years  what  was  then  the  most  conspicuous  public 
office  —  that  of  postmaster,  Of  Deacon  Jonathan 
Bacheller  not  a  word  appears,  save  as  one  in  the 
list  of  officers,  in  either  edition.1 

Exceptions,  however,  only  prove  the  rule.  Mr. 
Newhall's  execution  of  his  task  is  a  creditable  per- 
formance, but  it  is  not  a  remarkable  one.  Somebody 
else  might  have  had  the  plodding  industry  and  liter- 
ary taste  and  have  done  as  well. 

1 A  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  apparent  injustice  has 
recently  been  given  me  by  Mr.  Newhall's  literary  executor. 

317 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Upon  the  writing  of  that  book,  Mr.  Newhall  could 
not  have  obtained  the  pedestal  which  he  will  in  future 
occupy  with  students  and  scholars.  Mr.  Newhall's 
literary  fame  will  be  always  secure.  He  wrote  one 
book  which  will  forever  be  a  classic  in  New  England 
bibliography. 

"  Lin,  or  Jewels  of  the  Third  Plantation,"  by  Obadiah 
Oldpath,  is  a  book,  which,  as  we  get  away  from  the 
ways,  habits  and  speech  of  the  period  which  it  depicts, 
will  steadily  gain  in  value. 

In  the  second  edition,  the  author  acknowledges  his 
appreciation  of  the  manner  in  which  the  first  was 
received,  and  states  that  one  of  the  most  flattering 
expressions  concerning  it  came  from  the  lips  of  an 
aged  Quaker  preacher,  who,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
exclaimed,  "  I  must  tell  thee  that  I  Ve  both  laughed 
and  cried  over  thy  book."  And  then  he  naively  adds 
that  he  was,  nevertheless,  led  to  fear  that  the  scope 
and  purpose  were  not  in  all  cases  fully  understood. 

That  scope  and  purpose  he  throws  light  upon  in 
these  words  :  - 

"  By  a  strict  adherence  to  barren  facts  in  the  his- 
tory of  a  people,  much  of  the  true  spirit  may  remain 
undeveloped.  Traditions  and  inferential  elucidations 
often  form  a  most  valuable  backing  for  the  mirror 
that  is  to  reflect  a  given  period  ;  and  those  may  not 
find  place  in  a  stately  history.  While  it  is  not  claimed 
that  direct  authority  can  be  referred  to  for  every 
statement  it  is  confidently  claimed  that  the  whole 
is  as  truly  illustrative  of  the  people  and  their  doings 
in  those  good  old  times,  of  their  walks  and  their 
ways,  as  if  every  page  were  disfigured  by  reference 

318 


of  Old  Lynn 

to  authorities.  And  by  the  same  token,  while  the 
scenes  are  laid  in  a  somewhat  circumscribed  vicinage, 
though  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  diversified  in 
all  New  England,  it  is  yet  true  that  most  extensive 
fields  of  historic  interest  are  held  in  survey." 

As  to  the  contemporary  standing  of  this  book,  I 
desire  to  call  a  witness,  first  qualifying  him  as  an 
expert :  Name,  William  Whiting ;  A.B.,  Harvard, 
1833 ;  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Massachusetts  and  of 
U.S.  Courts,  1838  ;  Presidential  Elector,  1868  ;  LL.D., 
1872 ;  Representative  of  Third  Massachusetts  District 
in  Forty-third  Congress ;  Honorary  Member  of  His- 
torical Societies  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Florida 
and  Wisconsin  ;  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society,  etc. ; 
President  of  the  New  England  Historic-Genealogical 
Society ;  Solicitor  of  the  War  Department  at  Wash- 
ington during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  and  author 
of  an  important  work,  called  "The  War  Powers  of 
the  President." 

Mr.  Whiting  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Samuel 
Whiting,  the  first  minister  of  Lynn.  As  a  labor  of 
love  he  wrote  and  printed,  not  published,  an  elaborate 
and  exhaustive  "  Memoir  of  Rev.  Samuel  Whiting, 
D.D.,  and  of  his  Wife,  Elizabeth  St.  John,  with 
References  to  some  of  their  English  Ancestors  and 
American  Descendants." 

Mr.  Whiting  fortified  his  statements,  like  careful 
historians  and  pleaders,  by  numerous  citations  from 
competent  authorities,  such  as  the  Massachusetts 
Records,  the  Histories  of  Hutchinson,  Minot,  Bancroft, 

319 


Hearths  and  Homes 

Drake,  Thompson,  Palfrey,  Barry  and  Hubbard, 
Lewis's  "  Lynn,"  Winthrop's  "  Journal,"  Edward  John- 
son's "  Wonder- Working  Providence,"  Savage's  "Gen- 
ealogical Dictionary,"  De  Tocqueville's  "  Democracy 
in  America,''  Cotton  Mather's  "  Magnalia,"  Upham's 
"  Witchcraft,"  and  all  the  standard  writers  upon  New 
England  life  ;  but  his  favorite  and  most  quoted  illus- 
trations are  from  the  "  Journal  of  Obadiah  Turner." 

This  famous  Journal  is  a  part  of  the  contents  of 
"  Lin."  It  is  such  a  vivid  picture,  so  mirror-like  in 
its  representation  of  early  Colonial  life,  so  true  in 
its  terse,  idiomatic,  provincial  English,  that  it  is  no 
wonder  that  it  impressed  the  profound  lawyer  and  his- 
toric-genealogical scholar  with  its  power  and  reliability. 

Mr.  Whiting  also  gives  entries  from  the  Journal  of 
Thomas  Newhall.  This  Journal,  like  the  other,  sin- 
gularly realistic  and  fascinating  to  students  of  the 
olden  days,  is  a  part  of  "  Lin."  Mr.  Whiting  quotes 
entire  several  pages  from  what  he  truly  styles  "  the 
invaluable  Journal"  of  Mr.  Turner,  his  ancestor's 
parishioner. 

Mr.  Whiting  is  not  the  only  witness  who  has  uncon- 
sciously testified  to  the  exquisite  literary  art,  this  per- 
fect reproduction  of  the  thought  of  the  old  planters. 
Many  learned  men  have  asked  where  Mr.  Newhall 
found  these  yellow,  time-stained  life  stories  of  the 
olden  time. 

In  the  England  of  George  the  Third,  there  lived  a 
boy  named  Thomas  Chatterton,  who  devoted  all  his 
time  to  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  English  antiquities 
and  obsolete  language.  He  produced  some  wonderful 

320 


of  Old  Lynn 

fabrications  which  purported  to  be  transcripts  of 
ancient  manuscripts,  written  by  Thomas  Rowley,  a 
priest  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The  Rowleian  poetry 
of  this  prodigy  of  letters,  deceived  men  of  literary 
pretensions,  such  as  the  virtuoso,  Horace  Walpole. 
Like  Chatterton,  Mr.  Newhall  made  a  fac-simile  repro- 
duction of  an  earlier  day,  and  the  learned  were  in 
each  case  deceived  as  to  the  origin.  There  the 
resemblance  ceases,  for  Chatterton  studied  to  deceive, 
while  Mr.  Newhall  simply  desired  a  medium  through 
which  to  represent  the  age  which  he  essayed  to 
reproduce. 

It  is  said  that  some  men  only  become  eloquent 
when  the  pen  comes  in  contact  with  the  white  paper. 
Of  Mr.  Newhall,  we  should  say  that  his  genius  found 
fullest  play  when  he  stood,  stick  in  hand,  before  his 
case  and,  to  the  music  of  the  clicking  types,  without 
the  intervention  of  pen  or  paper,  composed,  in  a 
double  sense ;  that  is,  a  large  portion  of  his  work 
was  never  written,  but  was  transferred  from  his 
brain  through  his  nervous  fingers  and  the  type  to 
the  printer's  form. 

Thus,  it  happened  that  these  famous  journals  never 
existed  on  mouldy  paper,  nor  even  on  the  paper  of 
his  time,  but  were  simply  figments  of  his  intellect. 
The  alleged  journals  were  only  the  key  with  which 
he  introduced  his  readers  to  the  society  of  the  elders. 
The  journals,  bright  and  captivating  as  they  are, 
form  but  a  part  of  this  work,  which  appears  to  me 
to  stand  the  best  chance  of  any  literary  production 
of  Lynn  authors  to  endure  the  test  of  time. 

321 


21 


Hearths  and  Homes 

The  sketches,  besides  their  pithy  style,  have  a  quaint 
flavor  of  the  soil.  The  rout  of  Hector  Mclntyre  in 
his  battle  with  the  phoca,  was  not  better  depicted  by 
the  Wizard  of  the  North  than  the  inglorious  discom- 
fiture of  Parson  Shepard's  eeling  expedition  on  the 
Saugus  River. 

The  Judge  was  an  Episcopalian,  but  he  has  other- 
wise spoken  fair  words  of  our  Puritan  divines,  so  we 
pardon  him  for  inserting  the  incident  that  insinuates 
that  our  fighting  parson  was  only  human  after  all. 

"  And  the  Dame  will  likewise  make  ready  for  us  a 
bite  of  something  whereby  to  stay  our  stomachs.  And 
if  you  have  a  mind,  Samuel,  you  may  bring  along  your 
little  red  keg,  for  mine  hath  sacrament  wine  in  it, 
and  I  will  put  a  little  something  in  ye  same  to  warm 
our  stomachs  withal.  For  it  is  best,  Samuel,  sayd 
he,  giving  his  eye  a  little  turn,  'to  go  prepared  to 
meet  mishaps.' ' 

The  veracious  chronicles  of  "the  late  Diedrich 
Knickerbocker"  have  charmed  generations  of  readers, 
but  as  life-like  as  his  Dutch  farmers  or  as  grotesque 
as  his  Connecticut  pedagogue,  Ichabod  Crane,  are 
Obadiah  Oldpath's  scenes  of  the  scalping  of  Mr.  Laigh- 
ton  in  Lynn  Woods  or  the  wonderful  cure  of  Aaron 
Rhodes  by  the  mysterious  explosion  of  Dr.  Tyndale's 
cue. 

There  is  a  vein,  too,  of  pathos  in  the  touching 
story  of  Verna  Humphrey  that  is  none  the  less  pure 
because  it  lacks  the  weirdness  of  Hawthorne's  Hester 
.Prynne,  to  which  it  is  a  kindred  spirit  from  shadeland. 

In  claiming  for  this  work  the  prospect  of  a  longer 

322 


of  Old  Lynn 

hold  upon  the  memory  of  men  than  any  other,  I  do 
not  forget  that  Lynn  never  had  a  paucity  of  writers. 
Of  the  men  who  have  passed  on  within  our  own  time, 
we  recall  the  Whig  pen  and  the  graceful  verse  of 
Josiah  F.  Kimball ;  the  trenchant  force  of  the  schol- 
arly Lewis  Josselyn  ;  the  caustic  and  diversified  man- 
ner of  the  late  Cyrus  M.  Tracy.  Nor  do  I  forget  one 
yet  living,  though  not  now  with  us,  that  ready  writer 
wrho  was  ever  a  leader  in  Lynn's  progress  —  Peter  L. 
Cox a  —  and  many  others  whom  I  may  not  name. 

These  men,  however,  wrote  for  bread  and  butter  — 
their  themes  were  of  to-day.  Their  work  was  bright 

1  Peter  L.  Cox  died  in  New  York,  October,  25,  1905.  He  began 
the  publication  of  the  Lynn  Reporter  in  1854,  a  semi-weekly  paper 
that  became  famous  in  New  England  and  favorably  known  through- 
out the  country. 

In  the  columns  of  the  Reporter,  Mr.  Cox  advocated  many  public 
benefits,  and  in  an  article  published  in  1875  he  said  that  he  was  the 
first  to  start  a  power  press  in  Lynn  ;  first  to  publicly  advocate  the 
substitution  of  steam  fire  engines  for  the  hand  tubs  ;  the  first  to 
advocate  the  introduction  of  a  city  water  supply  ;  the  first  to 
advocate  the  construction  of  a  street  railway  for  the  city.  The 
advocacy  of  the  foregoing  public  utilities,  all  afterward  secured  for 
the  city,  is  sufficient  to  link  the  name  of  Mr.  Cox  forever  with  that 
of  the  city.  In  1854  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Lynn  Common  Council, 
and  in  1855,  1856,  and  1857  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Massachusetts 
Senate.  He  and  his  brother  conducted  the  Lynn  Reporter  about 
twenty-five  years,  and  in  that  long  period  of  success  taught  the 
printing  trade  to  many  of  Lynn's  noted  printers,  and  the  fact  that 
a  man  learned  the  trade  under  Peter  L.  Cox  was  a  guarantee  that 
he  was  a  thorough  workman.  Prior  to  starting  the  Reporter, 
Mr.  Cox  worked  on  the  Bay  State,  some  time  as  foreman.  The 
Bay  State  antedated  the  Reporter  several  years. 

He  lived  ten  years  beyond  the  Psalmist's  term  of  human  life. 
Though  not  a  native  of  Lynn,  he  will  be  remembered  as  a  builder 
of  the  city. 

323 


Hearths  and  Homes 

and  readable  when  published,  but  the  most  sparkling 
leading  editorials  find  the  common  fate  of  newspaper 
work  —  the  cold  tomb  of  the  public  library. 

The  author  of  "  Lin "  wrote  at  his  leisure  in  the 
seclusion  of  his  closet,  from  the  past,  over  the  present, 
for  the  future. 

To  have  held  honorable  positions  with  credit  to  the 
people  and  to  himself  in  his  native  town  is  much,  but 
to  have  written  books  that  will  entertain  and  instruct 
our  children's  children  will  give  him  more  enduring 
fame  than  the  loudest  plaudits  that  contemporaries 
could  shower  upon  him,  or  any  man,  for  any  achieve- 
ments that  are  of  to-day  only. 

He  wrought  well  what  he  undertook.  To  him  we 
may  well  apply  Lowell's  lines  of  the  poise  of  the 
modest  man :  - 

' '  Ah  !  men  do  not  know  how  much  strength  is  in  poise, 
That  he  goes  the  farthest  who  goes  far  enough, 
And  that  all  beyond  that  is  just  bother  and  stuff. 
No  vain  man  matures,  he  makes  too  much  new  wood  ; 
His  blooms  are  too  thick  for  the  fruit  to  be  good  ; 
'T  is  the  modest  man  ripens,  't  is  he  that  achieves, 
Just  what 's  needed  of  sunshine  and  shade  he  receives  ; 
Grapes,  to  mellow,  require  the  cool  dark  of  their  leaves." 


324 


CYRUS  MASON  TRACY 


CYRUS   MASON  TRACY.1 


|YNN  does  well  to  inscribe  upon  its  temples  of 
learning,  the  names  of  men  and  women  whose 
lives  have  counted  in  the  growth  of  the  ancient 
town.  Last,  but  not  least,  upon  the  roll  of  honor,  has 
been  written  in  enduring  marble  the  name  of  Tracy. 
The  happy  thought  of  an  appreciative  mind  suggested 
its  application  to  this  building  so  near  to  Mr.  Tracy's 
home,  and  so  near  to  the  woods  which  he  loved  so  well. 
Whiting,  Shepard  and  Cobbet  were  early  pastors. 
Ingalls,  Burrill  and  Newhall  were  of  our  early  and 
continuing  families.  Pickering  and  Lewis  commem- 
orate women  who  were  illustrators  of  our  public 
school  system. 

Gilbert  White's  "  Natural  History  of  Selborne  "  and 
Thoreau's  "  Walden  Pond  "  have  made  classic  ground 
of  two  little  dots  on  the  earth's  surface  ;  and  Tracy's 
"  Essex  Flora"  and  his  mystic  woodland  rites  have 
made  Lynn  Woods  the  mecca  of  reverent  footsteps. 
The  words  of  Mr.  Tracy,  speaking  of  another,  seem 
to  be  singularly  appropriate  to  apply  to  himself  :  - 

"It  is  not  fitting  that  our  ideas  of  respect  for  the 
dead  should  be  ill-chosen  or  marked  by  any  excess 


an  address  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the  Tracy 
School,  May  17,  1899. 

325 


Hearths  and  Homes 

either  way.  To  limit  all  our  praises  to  the  departed 
who  have  happened  to  die  wealthy,  would  be  to 
depress  all  our  respect  to  a  mere  gold  worship ;  to 
see  no  virtue  in  any  but  popular  favorites,  often 
rude  and  mean  as  they  are,  is  to  burn  incense  to 
ignorance  and  make  an  idol  of  vice." 

To  most  of  the  people  here  it  is  needless  to  say 
that  Mr.  Tracy  was  not  at  any  time  in  his  life  over- 
burdened with  this  world's  goods. 

A  quotation  from  his  "Flora"  will  reveal  why, 
though  vulgar  pecuniary  rewards  did  not  come  to 
Tracy,  the  life  work  of  this  true  child  of  nature  was 
crowned  with  the  success  that  ennobles  man  and  his 
achievements.  Speaking  of  one  of  his  botanical  quests 
he  writes :  - 

"  Tired  and  thirsty,  I  was  inwardly  complaining  of 
the  toilsome  and  profitless  route,  when  leaping  down 
from  a  rough  pole  fence,  I  stood  face  to  face  with 
the  most  magnificent  oak-leaved  Gerardia  I  ever  saw. 
Had  the  wealth  of  its  yellow  bells  been  coined  to 
very  gold  in  my  hand,  I  could  have  felt  no  higher 
satisfaction  than  I  had  in  seeing  its  four-footed  stem, 
crowded  with  brilliant  flowers,  swaying  to  and  fro 
in  the  warm  westerly  wind,  the  magic  wand  to  charm 
away  for  the  time  every  thought  of  fatigue.  In  a 
certain  summer  I  had  a  kind  of  botanical  vow,  which 
I  kept  long  inviolate,  to  let  no  day  pass  without  the 
determination  of  at  least  one  new  species.  I  was 
fresh  in  the  study  then,  and  such  an  idea  was 
nowise  absurd.  But  one  day  had  waned  until  the 
sun  had  actually  gone  down  on  my  errantry  which 
threatened  to  become  night  errantry,  sure  enough. 
A  boggy  meadow,  often  visited  before,  seemed  the 

326 


of  Old  Lynn 

only  available  spot,  and  to  it  I  turned  with  the  reso- 
lution of  forlorn  hope.  Fifteen  minutes  later,  had 
my  feet  responded  to  my  feelings,  I  should  have  been 
dancing  among  the  hassocks  for  the  discovery  of  the 
charming  Cymbidium,  which  I  had  not  seen  before 
since  I  gathered  its  blushing  beauties  when  a  boy, 
in  the  meadows  of  Connecticut." 

Cyrus  Mason  Tracy  was  born  in  Norwich,  Conn., 
May  7,  1824.  In  the  year  1838  or  1839,  for  a  single 
term,  he  attended  the  grammar  school  of  Ward  Six, 
having  come  to  Lynn  with  his  father's  family.  This 
is  understood  to  be  the  only  public-school  training 
he  ever  had.  When  he  was  seven  years  old  he  had 
a  severe  sickness,  which  left  him  with  a  disability 
which  death  only  could  remove.  He  was  apt  in 
mechanical  pursuits,  but  frail  physically.  His  first 
employment  was  in  the  rope  walk  at  West  Lynn ; 
then  with  his  father  he  entered  the  employ  of  Theo- 
philus  N.  Breed,  first  on  South  Common  Street  and 
later  in  the  shoe  kit  factory  at  Breed's  Pond,  the 
value  of  which  as  a  mill  privilege  was  discovered  by 
the  elder  Tracy.  For  a  time  he  was  in  the  Registry 
of  Deeds  at  Salem  ;  then  in  the  City  Clerk's  office  in 
Lynn,  under  William  Bassett  and  Charles  Merritt. 
Thence  on  he  had  various  callings,  such  as  civil 
engineer,  surveyor,  conveyancer,  notary,  florist  and 
principal  of  a  music  school.  From  1867,  the  time  of 
the  establishment  of  the  Lynn  Transcript,  for  ten 
years  he  was  its  editor.  For  six  years  he  was  Pro- 
fessor of  Botany  and  Materia  Medica  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts College  of  Pharmacy.  He  was  also  a  Lecturer 

327 


Hearths  and  Homes 

upon  Botany  and  kindred  subjects  before  the  Essex 
Institute.  For  twenty  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Pine  Grove  Cemetery  Commissioners,  and  for  fifteen 
years  the  Secretary  of  the  Board.  From  1856  to 
1869  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Common  Council.  Upon 
two  historic  occasions  Mr.  Tracy  was  the  central 
figure.  He  delivered  the  poem  at  the  dedication  of 
the  City  Hall,  on  November  30,  1867,  and  the  oration 
at  the  celebration  of  the  250th  anniversary  of  the 
settlement  of  the  town,  June  17,  1879.  He  wrote 
the  Lynn  matter  for  Jewett's  "Standard  History  of 
Essex  County,"  which  is  considered  by  scholars  as 
the  best  short  history  of  Lynn  ever  written.  His 
unexpected  death  prevented  the  carrying  out  of  a 
plan  to  enlarge  and  extend  that  work.  He  twice 
codified  the  ordinances  of  the  city  and  he  compiled 
and  edited  for  the  City  Council  a  history  of  the 
events  leading  up  to  the  erection  of  the  City  Hall. 
It  must  be  noted  that  he  was  one  of  the  founders 
and  life-long  promoters  of  a  society  close  to  the  hearts 
of  our  people  —  the  Houghton  Horticultural  Society. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Tracy,  which  occurred  Sep- 
tember 28,  1891,  his  seatmate  in  the  old  Grammar 
School,  his  close  friend  for  more  than  fifty  years, 
wrote  a  sketch  of  Tracy,  which,  after  these  years, 
seems  so  fair,  just  and  discriminating  that  I  adopt  it. 
Col.  Gardiner  Tufts,  who  within  two  short  months 
followed  him  to  the  unseen  world,  wrote  :  - 

"Mr.  Tracy,  in  many  phases  of  character,  was  a 
unique  personality.  He  was  not  a  scholar  from  the 
schools.  He  was  not  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 

328 


of  Old  Lynn 

Gamaliel  He  did  not  acquire  knowledge  by  study, 
as  most  people  acquire  it ;  yet  he  was  learned  above 
his  fellows.  He  knew  by  intuition.  In  many  par- 
ticulars of  ability  he  was  the  foremost  man  of  Lynn. 
He  could  do  many  things  with  ease  that  were  hard 
for  most  people  to  do  at  all.  He  could  do  difficult 
things  with  wonderful  ease  and  affluence.  His  speech 
was  felicitous.  His  thoughts  and  words  came  at  first 
bidding  so  correctly  that  his  composition  rarely  needed 
revision.  No  one  in  Lynn  has  excelled  him  in  poetic 
writing.  He  knew  more  of  local  history  than  any 
other  person  of  our  city." 

This  characterization  by  Colonel  Tufts  is  the  defi- 
nition of  a  man  of  genius  rather  than  a  man  of 
talent  or  ability. 

Mr.  Tracy  was  a  man  of  genius.  Realizing  this, 
we  can  understand  how  without  the  discipline  of 
the  schools  he  assimilated  and  digested  omnivorous 
reading  —  how  he  became  a  walking  encyclopedia, 
full  and  fluent,  upon  all  subjects.  With  the  virtue 
of  genius  he  had  its  vice  inertia.  The  closing  para- 
graph of  the  preface  to  the  edition  of  the  "  Flora," 
issued  after  his  death  by  his  children,  contained  a 
hint  and  a  half  promise :  "  This  explanation  will 
make  plain  our  reason  in  bringing  out  first  a  book 
requiring  re-writing  rather  than  one  of  the  many 
already  prepared.  It  was  the  first  in  his  thought 
and  plan,  therefore  first  in  our  execution." 

The  "  Flora  "  appeals  to  a  limited  class  of  students. 
The  exquisite  prose-poetry  and  the  melodious  verse 
of  these  unpublished  volumes  would  be  welcome  in 
all  the  homes  of  Lynn.  If  he  had  possessed  the 


Hearths  and  Homes 

business  alertness  of  Whittier,  to  whom  he  is  closely 
akin  as  the  Poet  of  Nature  of  New  England,  dainty 
editions  of  his  prose  and  verse  would  have  been 
treasured  among  our  favorite  books. 

As  a  poet  I  have  mentioned  his  name  in  company 
with  Whittier.  As  a  writer  of  pure,  pellucid  Saxon 
English  in  prose  form  he  was  unequaled.  Dean  Swift 
long  ago  laid  down  that  "proper  words  in  proper 
places  made  the  true  definition  of  a  style."  Which, 
however,  is  not  the  definition,  but  the  character  of 
a  good  style.  Tracy  used  proper  words  in  proper 
places.  His  prose  was  Addisonian,  and  if  he  had 
been  merely  a  talented  man  we  might  have  suspected 
that  he  had  acquired  it  by  following  Dr.  Johnson's 
advice,  that  "whoever  wishes  to  attain  an  English 
style,  familiar,  but  not  coarse,  and  elegant,  but  not 
ostentatious,  must  give  his  days  and  nights  to  the 
volumes  of  Addison." 

Death  is  often  the  beginning  of  fame  for  great 
men.  Little  men  are  buried  and  forgotten.  After 
a  while  familiar  remembrance  of  the  earthly  part 
of  man  fades  away,  and  then,  with  ever-increasing 
brightness,  the  intellectual  force  of  his  life  remains 
to  aid  and  instruct  the  community.  So  may  it  be 
with  Tracy. 

Mr.  Tracy  was  a  diamond  in  the  rough.  The 
points  of  the  diamond  will  cut.  His  pen  was  sharp 
and  controversial  when  he  dealt  with  current  matters. 
He  entered  the  lists  with  all  comers  and  his  pen 
pricked  many  a  sham.  His  ideals  were  high  —  he 
lived  a  life  without  reproach  and  with  an  enfeebled 

3=30 


of  Old  Lynn 

frame  accomplished  so  much  as  to  render  him  worthy 
of  emulation  to  those  who  follow  him.  Mr.  Tracy 
was  a  versatile,  many-sided  man.  The  people  have 
called  him  the  "  Father  of  the  Lynn  Public  Forest." 
The  title  is  appropriate.  His  inner  inspiration  was 
to  teach  the  people  of  Lynn  that  they  had  in  the 
woods  an  "asylum  of  inexhaustible  pleasure."  Of 
all  the  work  he  accomplished  in  his  useful  life  he 
would  undoubtedly  desire  to  be  remembered  for  this. 

He  formed  the  Exploring  Circle  many  years  since. 
Parenthetically  I  may  say  that  in  the  secret  archives 
of  this  Exploring  Circle  there  is  a  mine  of  local 
history  which  ought  some  time  to  be  opened  up  for 
posterity  by  this  devoted  band  of  scholars.  He  led 
parties  of  enthusiastic  naturalists  to  scenes  of  beauty 
and  grandeur  hitherto  unseen,  save  by  his  eyes.  He 
dedicated  hilltops  and  glens  with  mystic  rites.  He 
organized  the  Trustees  of  the  Free  Public  Forest. 
He  solicited  funds  and  lands  for  the  use  of  the 
people  forever.  Under  the  trust  of  the  Free  Public 
Forest,  Penny  Brook  Glen,  Dungeon  Rock,  and  the 
two  hundred  acres  of  picturesque  wildness  became 
the  heritage  of  Lynn.  If  the  conditions  surrounding 
the  woods  had  not  changed,  the  voluntary  plan  of 
Mr.  Tracy  would  have  accomplished  nearly  all  that 
lovers  of  the  woods  desired,  independent  of  legis- 
lation. The  Water  Board's  ponds  and  girdling  roads 
punctured  the  woods  and  exposed  them  to  undesirable 
occupation. 

Here  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  that  in  his  last  years 
he  was  troubled  by  what  seemed  to  him  a  dangerous 

331 


Hearths  and  Homes 

diversion  of  the  control  of  the  woods  from  his  Forest 
Trust  to  the  Park  Commissioners.  From  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  his  scheme  and  of  the  work  done  since, 
I  think  he  was  unduly  alarmed.  So  far  the  Park 
Commissioners  have  proceeded  on  lines  laid  down  by 
Mr.  Tracy  in  his  "  Circular  Statement "  issued  by  the 
Forest  Trustees,  January  12,  1882.  As  long  as  the 
purpose  of  the  contributors  of  land  and  money  to 
keep  the  woods  in  local  Lynn  authority  is  observed, 
the  simple,  natural  development  outlined  by  him  will 
be  maintained.  Mr.  Tracy's  zeal,  loyalty  and  spirit 
pointed  the  way  for  his  successors.  That  to-day  the 
whole  magnificent  domain  is  the  people's  is  due  to 
the  momentum  which  he  gave.  The  children  of 
Lynn,  in  all  generations  will  cherish  and  revere  the 
memory  of  Cyrus  M.  Tracy,  for  the  marvelous  gift 
to  which  his  seer's  vision  guided  him. 


332 


SAMUEL  HAWKES 


SAMUEL  HAWKES.] 


fgHJAMUEL  HAWKES,  who  was  born  in  Saugus, 
!  December  4,  1816,  died  there  March  24,  1903. 
He  was  the  son  of  Ahijah  and  Theodate 
(Pratt)  Hawkes. 

His  paternal  line  of  ancestry  was  from  Adam1  (the 
immigrant),  John,2  Ebenezer,3  Samuel,4  Ebenezer,5  Ahi- 
jah,6 Samuel.7 

His  mother  descended  from  Richard  Pratt  (the 
immigrant)  of  Charlestown,  who  came  from  Maldon, 
Co.  Essex,  England. 

The  succeeding  generations  of  the  Pratt  family 
lived  in  Maiden  and  Lynn. 

Adam  Hawkes  also  came  to  Lynn  through  Charles- 
town,  where  he  sold  his  property  in  1634,  and  he  is 
found  in  Lynn  in  the  original  division  of  the  land  in 
1638  with  a  grant  of  one  hundred  acres.  This  grant 
was  in  that  part  of  the  town  now  well  known  as 
Hawkes'  Corner,  North  Saugus,  and  the  site  of  Adam 
Hawkes'  first  home,  Close  Hill,  has  been  in  the 
unbroken  holding  of  his  descendants  since,  and  was  a 
treasured  possession  of  Samuel  Hawkes,  through  life. 

The  place  of  his  death  was  the  house  of  Richard 
Hawkes,  which  is  upon  the  site  of  the  second  house 

1  From  Register  of  the  Lynn  Historical  Society,  1903. 

333 


built  by  Adam  Hawkes.  Most  of  his  life  was  spent 
in  the  near-by  house,  also  upon  the  original  grant, 
which  was  the  home  of  his  father,  Ahijah  Hawkes, 
who  the  year  before  Samuel's  birth,  became  Chair- 
man of  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen  of  the  newly 
detached  town,  to  which  was  given  the  ancient  name 
of  the  original  plantation,  "Saugus." 

Mr.   Hawkes  cast  his  first  Presidential  vote  for 
Martin  Van  Buren.     He  was  a  Democratic  member 


SAMUEL    HAWKES'    HOUSE 


of  the  General  Court  in  1854,  the  last  year  that  the 
Commonwealth  had  a  Whig  Governor.  This  Governor 
was  Emory  Washburn. 

One  of  the  pleasant  memories  of  his  life,  to  which  he 
frequently  referred,  was  his  appointment  by  Governor 
William  E.  Russell  as  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Farmers'  Congress  held  at  Sedalia,  Missouri,  Nov- 
ember 10-11-12,  1891.  He  attended  the  Congress. 

884 


of  Old  Lynn 

His  associates  from  Massachusetts  were  Ex-Governor 
George  S.  Boutwell  and  Philander  Williams  of  Taunton. 

He  rendered  efficient  service  as  Chairman  of  the 
Boards  of  Selectmen  and  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and 
as  Moderator  of  Town  Meetings.  By  general  consent 
his  suggestions  as  to  the  amount  of  the  annual  appro- 
priations of  the  town  were  adopted. 

He  was  deeply  interested  in  the  Essex  Agricultural 
Society  of  which  he  for  many  years  was  the  Saugus 
Trustee.  He  was  a  frequent  and  effective  speaker 
at  the  Farmers'  Institutes  throughout  the  County. 

Although  reared  on  the  farm  he  never  followed 
general  farming,  but  was  known  as  a  successful 
cranberry  grower. 

He  was  also  a  large  land  owner,  and  from  him  the 
City  of  Lynn  acquired  the  title  to  the  greater  portion 
of  what  is  now  Walden  Pond. 

Mr.  Hawkes  was  never  married.  He  was  a  birth- 
right member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  and  through 
life  was  a  frequent  attendant  at  its  meetings.  A 
portion  of  his  school  training  was  obtained  at  the 
well-known  denominational  institution  of  the  Society, 
the  New  England  Yearly  Meeting  Boarding  School 
at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  of  which  he  was  a 
benefactor  in  his  old  age. 

From  its  establishment  in  1888,  he  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Sinking  Fund  Commission  of  Saugus, 
to  which  he  was  re-elected  at  the  March  meeting, 
though  known  to  be  seriously  ill. 

In  his  death  the  town  lost  its  best  equipped  and 
most  thoroughly  trustworthy  public  man. 

335 


Hearths  and  Homes 

He  was  the  President  of  the  Hawkes  Family  Asso- 
ciation, and  delivered  an  able  genealogical  address  at 
the  great  family  gathering  at  the  old  homestead  at 
its  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  Anniversary  in  1880. 

Of  late  years  his  favorite  place  of  resort  was  the 
Registry  of  Deeds  at  Salem,  where  he  became  the 
recognized  authority  upon  land  titles.  He  was  like- 
wise a  close  student  of  New  England  life  and  of 
genealogical  lore. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Lynn  Historical  Society 
and  an  interested  attendant  and  participant  at  its 
meetings. 


336 


22 


'r/^\^^^-^r  " 


NDEX 


PAGE 

Abbott,  Abiel  (Rev.)    .    .   .  222 

Aborn,  Aaron 256 

Ebenezer 261 

Abousett  (Rivei) 3 

Acadia 157 

Adams,  Benjamin  (Rev.)  251,255 
John  (Pres.)    .    .    .  196,  221 

Thomas 181 

Adventurers,  The 189 

Aldersey,  Samuell     ....  181 

Alley,  Deborah  ......    68 

Hugh  (Capt.)  ....  68,  (59 

John,  Jr 276 

Rebecca 66,  67 

Samuel 66,  68 

Sarah 58,  68 

Anchor  Tavern 16 

Andros,  Edmund  (Sir)   .    .   . 

33,  161,  179,  198 
209,210,211,216 

Aplton,  Samuel 35 

Appleton,  Samuel,  Jr.,  140,  141 

Appomattox 279 

Arbella,  The 183,  184 

Armitage,  Jane     .....  151 

Joseph 137 

Arnold,  Benedict  .  .  5,  19,  196 
Atkinson,  Eliza  M.  (Mrs.)  .  253 
Attwill,  Zachariah  .  .  173,  174 

Bacheller,  Jonathan     .    .  6,  317 


PAGE 

Baird,  William  L 11 

Baker,  Daniel  C 202 

Edward 137 

Bancroft,  James  .    .    .  255,  261 

John 269 

Nathaniel  (Capt.)  247,  252 
255,  256,  -257 
258,  259,  261 

Thomas  (Capt.)  .   .    .   .  269 
Barber's  Historical  Collec- 
tions        9 

Barnes,  Isaac  0 222 

Bartlett,  William 222 

Basset,  Isac 68 

John 68 

Bassett,  William  .....  327 

Bay  State,  The 323 

Bee,  John  &  Co 137 

Becx,  John  ...  143, 144,  145 
Bellingham,  Richard  (Gov.) 

141, 181,  284,  286 

Bennett,  Frank  P 28 

Samuel 16,  17 

Berry,  John    .    .    .  252,  255,  261 
Black  Will  (Indian)   ....    81 

Boardman,  Aaron 18 

Abijah 15,  19 

Samuel      27 

Sarah  (Miss)     .....    19 

Sewall 27 

William     18 


339 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Body  of  Liberties  of  1641,120,122 

Boston 2,  3,  129 

Boston  Harbor 2 

Boston  Street 5,  196 

Bostwick,  E.  Warner  ...    32 

Boundary  Line 14 

Bowdoin,  J 53,  54 

Boyce,  Samuel 165 

Bracebridge  Hall  (Irving)    240 
Bradstreet,  Simon  (Gov.)  184,198 

Brage,  Josiah 256 

Bragg,  Josiah 256 

Braman,  Milton  P.  (Rev.)  .  222 
Braintree  (Iron  Works)   .   .  138 

Brattle,  Thomas 35 

Breakheart  Hill 78 

Breed,  Aaron 276 

(Col.) 174 

Desire 68 

Ebenezer 68,  69 

Ephraim 174 

Frederick        .    .   .  169,  174 

Hannah 68 

Henry  A 12 

Henry  H.  (Mrs.)     ...  253 

Isaiah 68 

Jabez 68 

Lydia 68 

Nathan     68 

Nehemiah 68,  69 

Richard 276 

Samuel 69 

Theophilus  N 327 

Breed's  End 62 

Bridge  over  Saugus  River  .      5 

Bridges,  Robert  (Capt.)  .   .  134 

142,143,  144,149 

150,151,152,153 

154,155,  156,157 


PAGE 

Brintnall,  John 147 

Brooks,  Marshall  S.     .   .  26,  27 

Brown,  Isaac 312 

James 256,  261 

Josua 255 

Nicholas 196 

Samuell 181 

William 247 

Browne,  John 181 

Bulkeley,  Peter 37 

Burchsted,  Benjamin  B.     .    68 
Burchstead,  Henry  ....  171 

Burgis,  Robert 137 

Burnap,  Robert 2i;<> 

Burrill,  Ebenezer  .       .201,  303 

George     196,  19S 

John 47,  76,  151 

John,  Jr.  (Speaker)   .   . 

86,  199,  200,  201 

John,  Sr. 198 

Samuel 201 

Theophilus ic.u 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.  (Gen.),  222 
Buttrick,  John  (Maj.)  ...  247 

Cape  Cod  Harbor 207 

Carleton,  James  H 237 

Carver,  John(Gov.Plymouth),207 

Castle  Hill 78 

Chadbourn,  B 53 

Chadwell,  Harris 174 

Chamberlain, Mellen(Judge),'245 

Chandler,  Peleg  W 2  27 

Charles  River 2 

Charlestown 3 

Charlestown  Road     ....  259 
Charter  of  the  Colony  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  . 

liil,  180,  181.  !-•_> 


340 


INDEX 


Chase  &  Huse 1 1 

Chatterton,  Thomas  ...  320 
Cheever,  Abner  .  173,  174,  256 

Edward 31,  117 

Thomas  ...      18,  115,  147 

Chelsea 14,  15 

Child,  (Dr.) 136 

Choate,  Rufus 227 

Choose  Hill 98,  100 

Church,  Benjamin  (Capt.)  .  213 
Church  Members  .  .  .  .185 
Cinder  Banks,  The  ....  129 
Cleaveland,  Nehemiah  (Dr.) 

222 

Close  Hill 333 

Clough,  Josiah    ......    10 

Coates,  Ezra  (Pai-ish  Clerk) 

104 

Cobbet,  Thomas  (Rev. )  .  .152 
Coddington,  William  .  .  .  184 

Cogswell,  John 147 

Margaret  (Gifford)    .    .  147 
Collins,  Elizabeth  Jr.     ...    68 

Enoch 68 

Lois 68 

Samuel  .    .    .    .  68,  173,  174 

William 273 

Zaccheus 68 

Colonial  Charter  .  150,  209,  239 

Colonial  Houses 21 

Colonial  Records  .  .  134,  141 
Committee  of  Safety  .  .  .  257 
Common  Prayer  Book  .  .  .  206 

Commoners 188 

Conway,  William  P.  (Mrs.),  253 
Cook,  Samuel  ....  254,  279 
Cooke,  Parsons  (Rev.  Dr.)  . 

11,  161,  163,  166 
Court  of  Assistants  .    .  185,  186 


PAGE 

Cowdrey,  William     ...      269 

Cox  Tavern      278 

Cox,  Peter  L 323 

Craddock,  Matthew,  181,183,225 

Crane,  Ichabod 322 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  89, 157,208,215 
237,  282,  288,  290 
Crystal  Brook  (Oaklandvale) 

24,  28,  34 
Cummings,  Cyrus 221 

David 221 

Cushing,  Caleb  .    .      53,  54,  222 

Thomas 53,  54 

Dagyr,  John  Adam  .    .    .    .195 

Danforth,  John 261 

Danvers 236 

Davenport,  (Lieut.)  .    .    .    .  190 

Leif  F 266 

D'Aulnay,  (French  Gov  ).   . 

155,  157 
Dexter,  Thomas     .... 

81,  82,  83,  139,  153 

Dixey,  William 2,  297 

Downing,  Caleb 48 

Elija 276 

Emanuel  -  282,  283,  285,  288 

George  (Sir) 283 

Downing  Road 48 

Draper,  Eben      41 

George  .   •    •  ...    41 

Ira  (Deacon)    ....       40 

Dudley,  Joseph  (Gov.)  -  83,  271 

Joseph  (Pres.)     ....  204 

Thomas  (Gov.)  2, 184, 283,287 

Duncan,  James  H.    .        •   •  222 

Earl  of  Lincoln 184 

Eastern  Railroad    .       •    .  6,  11 


341 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Eaton,  Theophilus    ...      181 
Daniel    ...  ...    57 

Edmands,  Lott   .    .   .  37,  76,  77 

William 42,  43 

Endicott  (Capt.)    .    .   .  208,  213 

(Gov.) 141 

John     .    .  180,  181,  281,  285 

286,  287,  289,  295 

Epps,  Samuel  (Capt. )  ...    59 

Essex  Agricultural  Society,  219 

Essex  County  Founders  .   -  230 

Essex  Deeds 147 

Essex  Flora  .  .  .  325,  326,  329 
Essex  Minute  Men  ....  5 

Estes,  Anna 68 

Hannah 68 

Martha 68 

Ruth 68 

Exploring  Circle 331 

Farley,  Michael  ...  53,  54 
Farrington,  William  .  .  176 

Fay,  Richard  S 223 

Federal  Street 10 

Felton,  Cornelius  C.  ...  40 

First  Bridge 5 

First  Fire  Engine 5 

First  Parish  Meeting  House,  159 
Flagg,  Ebenezer  (Rev.)  .  .  109 

John  (Dr.)  ....  109,  110 

Flint,  William 248 

Foote,  Joshua 144 

Forest  Street  (Oaklandvale),  23 
Foster,  Andrew  ......  256 

Jed'h 53,  54 

Fowle,  Susanna 110 

Foxcroft,  George 181 

Freeman's  Oath  .  .  .149,  150 
Friends,  Society  of  .  .  163,  164 


PACK 

Fuller,  Joseph 171 

Oliver 275 

Gardiner,  Jas.  (Dr.)     .   .  48,  110 
169,  276 

Garrison  House 99 

General  Court,  The,  185, 187,188 

263,  264,  265,  270 

General  Electric  Co.  .    .   .  8,  12 

Gifford,  John,  141,142,143,145,146 

Margaret 146 

Gill,  Moses  (Lieut.  Gov.)  53,  54 

God  of  Moses 291 

Goffe,  Thomas   .   .    .   .181,  225 

Gowing,  Daniel 261 

James        255 

Joseph  (Capt.)  (Lieut.) 

247,  255,  258,  259,  261,  273 
Grand    Army    of    the    Re- 
public      261 

Graves,  Elizabeth     ....    68 

Gray,  Abraham 110 

Horace  (Justice)    .    .      110 

Lucia 110 

William 110 

Greeley,  Horace 305 

Hadley,  Thomas 248 

Hall  of  Paul  and  Ellis  New- 
hall     175 

Hallowell,  Henry  .  172,  274,  275 

Theophilus 176 

Hammersmith  (Village)  .  .  82 
Hammond,  Edward  (Capt.)  .  39 
Hancock,  John  (Gov.)  .  198,  235 
Hannibal  (slave)  ...  64,  65,  66 

Hart,  Ebenezer 262 

Isaac 269 

John 256,  261,  303 


342 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Hart,  Joseph 303 

Samuel 303 

Zerubbabel 261 

Hart's  Inn 196,  197 

Hartshorne,  Timothy  ...  269 

Harwood,  George 181 

Haven,  Joseph 25 

Haverhill 237 

Hawkes,  Adam  .   34,  39,  40,  50 

51,  57,  61,  77,  333,  334 

Adam  Augustus     ...    39 

Ahijah    ....  64,  333,  334 

Daniel 39 

Ebenezer,40,47, 58,62,64,65 
66,  67,  68,  333 

Elizabeth 26, 37 

Elkanah     .  25,  26,  27,  29,  30 
31,32,38,39,40 

Eunice 40 

Ezra 26 

George  L.   .    .    -  57,  58,  279 

Grace 26 

Hannah 37 

John  ...  34,  40,  50,  57,  58 
254,  262,  333 

John,  Sr 30 

Jonathan 25,  30 

Joseph 77 

Love 26 

Lydia         40 

Margaret  (Cogswell)    .    47 

Matthew 68 

Moses  .      46,  47,  50,  51,  147 

Nathan    .  26,  38,  40,  41,  47 

48,  49,  50, 53, 171 

172,  253,  275,  276 

Nathan  D 26,  253 

Nathan,  Jr 26,  255 

Philadelphia 68 


PAGE 

Hawkes,  Rebeckah  ....    68 

Samuel  ...  65,  66,  69,  299 

333-336 

Sarah 47,  68 

Sarah  (Haven)    ....    30 

Sarah  (Hitchings)  ...    37 

Theodate  (Pratt)    ...  333 

Thomas    .    .   .  25,  29,  30,  39 

40,  58,  147 

Hawkes'  Brook     ....  48,  57 

Hawkes'  Corner 333 

Hawkes'  Pond     ....  57,  254 

Hawthorne 234, 266 

John 137 

(Mr.) 190 

Hay  man,  Nathan 83 

Samuel 83 

Haynes  (Gov.) 286 

Hayward,  John  (Notary 

Public) 36 

Heard,  John 222 

Henchman,  Nathaniel  (Rev.) 

163,  166 

Herrick,  Horatio  G 221 

Martin  (Dr.)    .   .   .  248,  262 
Higginson,  (Rev.  Mr.)     .   .210 

Hill,  John 137 

Hitchcock,  Edward  (Prof.)    94 

Hitchings,  Daniel  .    .  33,  34,  35 

36,  37,  40,  77 

Eunice 26 

Ezra 196 

Joseph 39 

Susannah 47 

Holten,  Samuel  (Dr.)  .   .  53,  54 

Holyoke,  Edward 195 

Holy  Scriptures 206 

Hood,  Abner 273 

George 202,311 


343 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Hough  ton,  John  C 202 

Houghton  Horticultural  So- 
ciety   328 

House  of  Representatives  .  4 
Howard,  Mrs.(rz/e  Boardman)  19 
Howland,  William  .  .  .  .  312 
Hewlett's  Pond  .  .  .  .  48,  132 

Hewlett's  Mill 147 

Humfrey,  John,  151, 183, 184,225 
Humphrey,  John  .  180,  181,  184 

Susan  (Lady) 184 

Verna  (Lin) 322 

Humphrey  Street 184 

Humphrey's  Pond     .    .    .    .184 

Hutchins,  Thomas    .   .    .   .  181 

Hutchinson,  Francis    .    .       58 

Thomas  (Gov.),  153, 200,  204 

264,  289 

Indian  Alarm 98 

Indian  Rock 46,  50 

Ingalls,  Edmund   ....  2,  297 

Francis 2,  297 

Ipswich  (Chebacco  Parish)  .  147 

Ipswich  (Town  Hill)   .    .      297 

Iron  Works  Disputes   .   .    .141 

IronWorks,MonatocotRiver,131 

Iron  Works,  4,  17,  31,  35,  77,  80 

82,  83,  130,  133,  134,  135 

136,137,138,139,140,141 

142, 143, 144, 147, 153, 157 

158,  303 

Irving,  Washington  ....  240 
Item,  Lynn 308 

Jackson  (Major)  ...   .  197 

Jacobs,  George 237 

Jasper 94 

Jeffrey,  Joseph    .   .    .    .  60,  254 
Joseph,  Jr 254,  256 


PAGE 

Jeffrey,  Priscilla 60 

Jenks,  Joseph 16 

Johnson,  Benjamin  .   .    .   .175 

Benjamin  N 117 

David  N. 49 

Edward  (Capt.)  .    .  135,  158 
Isaac    .   .  181,  183,  184,  22.-> 

Richard 166 

Sam  (Dr.)    ....    30,  330 

Keayne,  Robert  (Capt.)  .   . 

141,  144,  157 

Kent,  Paul 221 

Kimball,  Josiah  F.    .   .    .      323 
King,  Daniel  P 223 

(Master) 202 

King  Charles  II,  157, 209, 214, 237 

King  George  III 215 

King  Henry  VIII 206 

King  James  I  (Defender  of 

the  Faith),  -  179,  205,  207 
214.  216 

King  James  II   ....  192,  209 
King  Philip's  War     ....    33 

King's  Chapel 113 

Kittredge,  Edward  A.  (Dr.),  41 

Thomas I'l'i' 

Knight,  Charles  (Historian),  205 
Kunkshamooshaw,  Abagail,  192 

David 192 

LaFayette  (Gen.) 5 

Lake  Quannapowit  .   .  100,  264 
La  Tour,  (French  Gov.),  155,  l.~>7 
Laud  (Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury)    .    .    .  205,  208,  290 

Laws  of  Moses 289 

Leader,  Richard 

82,  83,  131,  138,  141 


344 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Lear,  Tobias 197 

Lee  Hall 175 

Lee,  Jesse 175,  176 

Lewis,  Alonzo,  64,  159,  160,  162 
192,  200,  312,  315 

John  .       64,  66 

Lexington  Alarm 256 

Lexington  Green,  April  19, 

1775 216,  221 

Leyden  (Holland)  Pilgrims  207 
Lidgett,  (Lt.  Col.)  .  .  .  .211 

Lincoln,  Earl  of 2 

Lindsey,  John 271 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot    ...  259 
Lord,  Otis  P.  (Judge)   ...  222 
Loring,  George  B.  (Dr.)  .   .  223 
Louisburg  (French  Gibral- 
tar)      167 

Lowell,  James  R 324 

Lummus,  Charles  F.        .   .  308 

Lynn 210 

Lynn  Academy  ...  11 

Lynn  Bard 93 

Lynn  Great  Woods  ....  192 
Lynn  Militia  Company  .  .150 
Lynn  Regis,  England  .  .  4 

Lynn  Woods 266,  322 

Lynnfield  .  7,  95,  115,  247,  249 
Lynnfield  Muster  Roll  .  .  . 

255,  261,  262 

Macaulay,  Thomas  B.  (His- 
torian)     206 

Mack,  Elisha 222 

Main  Street  (Saugus)  ...  23 
Makepeace,  Jonathan  ...  64 

Malbon,  John 133 

Mansfield,  Andrew,  188,  254, 256 
262,271,273 


PAGE 

Mansfield,  Daniel   .  18,  257,  258 
262,  273 

John 273 

Joseph 137 

Oliver  Fuller 98 

Richard 64 

Samuel 256 

Thomas 173,  174 

William  .  169,  174,  256,  262 
Marblehead  (Abbot  Hall)    .  260 

Marret,  Sarah 26 

Marriage,  Colonial  Statute  of 

154 

Marsh,  James  Rumney  (In- 
dian Deed  to  Hitch- 
ings)  35,  36 

Marshall,  Thomas     .... 

16,  153,  156,  264 

Martin,  George  H 231 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots   .    .    .  20"> 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  215 
Massachusetts  Historical  So- 
ciety         .85 

Massachusetts,  Sixth  Regi- 
ment, Baltimore,  April 
19,  1861     ....  215,  216 
Masury,  Joseph     .    .       .26,  27 
Mavericke,  Moses     ....    50 
Mayflower  (Cape  Cod  Har- 
bor)           207 

Mclntyre,  Hector  ( Scott),    322 

Mead,  John 262 

Melrose 25 

Menotomy 248 

Merrill,  Benjamin         ...  308 

Merrimack  River 241 

Merritt,  Charles 327 

Methodist  Meeting  House, 

(First) 159 


345 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Milton  (Blue  Hills)  ...      297 

Minute  Men 5 

Mirror,  The  Lynn    ....  308 

Mistick 282 

Moody,  William  H 220 

Morton,  Perez 53 

Mottey,  Joseph  (Parson)  .  .  50 
Mount  Agamenticus  .  .  .156 
Mudge,  Benjamin  F.  .  .  .  309 

Enoch 175 

Mulliken,  Samuel 

Munroe,  Timothy,  171,  254,  255 
259,  277,  278,  279 

Nahant  7,  81 

Nahant  Bank 12 

Needham,  Daniel  .  .  262,  273 
Newburyport  Turnpike  .  .  61 

Newhall,  Abijah 68 

Asa     ...  60,  255,  262,  271 
Asa  Tarbell   .  223,  273,  277 

Benjamin 303 

B.  F 96 

Charles 169 

Charles  Henry    .   .    .   .161 

Daniel 68 

Elizabeth 255 

Ellis 175,  274 

Elmer  Boardman  ...    19 

Ezekiel 255,  262 

Hannah 39 

Jacob  (Landlord)  .  104, 152 
262,  273 

James 273 

James  Robinson  .    .  66,  157 
160,  299,  301-324 

Jonathan 255 

Josiah 223,  277 

Mary 255 


PAGE 

Newhall,  Micajah  .    -   .  171,  276 

Nathaniel 255 

Onesimus     256 

Paul 175,  274 

Sarah 255 

Sarah  (Tarbell)  ....  255 
Thomas  .  .  .  195,  303,  320 
Thomas  B.  .  .  309,  310,  312 

William 262 

Nichols,  Andrew 222 

Noell,  Increase 181 

Norman  Conquest 119 

Northend,  William  D.  .    .      220 

Norwood,  David 256 

William 256 

Nourse,  Aaron 262 

Rebecca 254 

Nowell,  Increase 141 

Nurse,  Rebecca 58 

Oaklandvale 78 

Old  Essex  Chapter,  S.A.R.,  259 
' '  Old  Tunnel ' '  Meeting  House 

64,  66,  161,  167,  175,  266,  267 
Oldpath,  Obadiah  (Lin),  318, 322 
Oliver,  Henry  ....  172,  276 

Henry  K 223 

Onslow,  Arthur  (Sir)    ...  200 
Ordinance  of  Marriage    .   .154 

Orne,  Samuel     250 

Otis,  James 53,  54 

Palfray,  John  Gorham  (Dr.) 

203,  20& 

Palmer,  J 53 

Park  Commissioners    .    .   .  332 

Parker,  Benjamin  .    .   .  23,  116 

David  (Major)  (Capt.) 

104,  248 


346 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Parker,  Thomas 269 

Parris,  Samuel  (Rev.)  .  59,  254 
Parsons,  Ebenezer  .  .  262,  312 

Mary  A.  (Mrs.)  .   .    .   .114 

Obediah  (Rev, )  .   .    .    .  176 
Pattee,  W.  S.  (Dr.),  136, 137, 138 

Paule,  John 17 

Payne,  William 140 

Peabody,  Dean 312 

Peabody  (Lexington  Monu- 
ment)      279 

Pearson,  John 269 

Pelsue,  John 256 

Penn,  William 164 

Penny  Brook 48,  69 

Pepperell,  William  (Sir)  .  .  30 
Pepys,  Samuel  (Diary)  .  .  69 
Perkins,  John  ....  247,  262 
Perry,  Thaddeus  .  .  .  256,  262 

Pery,  Richard 181 

Peters,  Hugh 208,  264 

Phebe  (slave)  .  .  .  .  64,  65,  66 
Phillips,  George  W 28 

John 49 

Pickering,  Timothy,  221, 222, 224 

Timothy,  Jr 53,  60 

Pilgrims,  The  ....  208,  216 
Pinchion,  William  ....  181 
Pine  Tree  Shilling  ....  4 

Pirates'  Lookout 91 

Plantation,  The  ....  185,  189 

Plough  Plain 34 

Plummer,  Caroline  ....  40 
Plymouth  Rock  ....  106,208 

Pompey  (slave) 88,  93 

Pool,  John  (Capt.)     ....    53 

Poole,  Jona 269,  270 

Poore,  Ben  :  Perley  .  .  .  .  223 
Potter,  Nicholas 137 


PAGE 

Pottery  at  Salem      ....  136 

Franker 's  Pond 73 

Pratt,  John 276 

Richard     333 

Prescott,  James 53 

Preston,  Levi  (Capt.)  245,246,247 

Province  Laws 121 

Provincial  Charter  .  .161,192 
Prynne,  Hester(Hawthorne),322 
Purchess  (Purchis),  John  .  140 

Oliver 140 

Purinton,  James 68 

Puritan    Commonwealth   in 

New  England  ....  290 

Puritan  Exodus 2 

Puritan  Sabbath,  The  ...  103 

Puritan  Theocracy     .   .  16,  161 

237,  263 

Puritanism 106 

Puritans 184,  208,  209 

Putnam,  Samuell  ....      255 

Quakers 163,  165 

Queen  Elizabeth  .   .   .  205,  206 

Randolph,  Edward    .... 

198,  209,  211,  212 
Read,  Philip  (Dr.)         ...  146 

Reading 7 

Reading  (Lynn  Village)  .  .  266 
Records  of  Lynn,  The  ...  188 
Registry  of  Deeds  .  .  .  .  187 

Reporter,  Lynn 323 

Rhodes,  Aaron 322 

Thomas 169,  174 

Richardson,  William  ...  251 
Riddon  (Raddin),  Benjamin  270 
Robinson,  James 196 

John  (Rev.) 207 


347 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Roby,  Joseph  (Rev.)  48,  117,  257 

Rachel  (Proctor)    .       .101 

Rosewell,  Henry  (Sir)  .  180,  181 

Rowell,  Joseph  M.    .   .         202 

Rowley,  Thomas 321 

Ruggles,  George 138 

Russell,  Jason    ....  250,  255 

Sadler,  Richard  (First  Clerk 

of  the  Writs)       .    .    .196 

Salem 129,  210 

Salem  Gazette    ....  304,  305 
Salem,  North  Bridge,  Feb- 
ruary 28,  1775  .    .    .    .221 

Salem  Pottery 136 

Salem  Quarterly  Court  .  17 
Salem  Turnpike  ....  6,  9 

Salmon,  Daniel 187 

Salt  Work 182 

Saltonstall,  Leverett   ...  222 

Richard  (Sir)181,183, 184,225 
Sanderson,  Howard  K. ,  248,  249 
Sargent,  Nathaniel  Peaslee,  (50 
Saugus  .  .  7,  15,  49,  81,  95, 101 

Saugus,  River  of 3 

Saugus  River,  .    .  48,  57,  91, 101 
254,  282 

Saunders,  Edward  W.,26,  27,  28 
Savage,  James  ....  134,  136 

Thomas 17,  143 

Saxon  Gavelkind 119 

Scott,  Andrew  A 4,  79 

Scott's  Mills 4 

Second  Parish  (Lynnfield)  .  162 
Second  Parish  (Saugus)  274,  275 
Sewall,  Samuel  (Chief  Justice) 

196,  220,  304 

Sewall's  (Samuel)  Diary  .  .  85 
Shakespeare  206 


PAGE 

Sharpe,  Tho 184 

Shawmut 2 

Sheldon,  Ephraim,  Jr.     .    .  i'56 

Francis 256 

Shepard,  Jeremiah  (Rev.)  . 

8,  165,  198,  212,  322 
Shepherd,  William  .  .  .  .  293 
Sherman,  Nathaniel  .  .  . 

247,  255,  261 

Shorey,  John  L 202 

Shute,  Richard 171 

Samuel  (Gov.) 10'.» 

Silsbee,  Nehemiah    ....  275 
"Six  Hundred  Acres,  The " 

31.  42 

Smith,  Amos 256 

Southcott,  Thomas  .   .  180,  181 
Sparhawk,  Nathaniel  (Rev.)  112 

Spooner,  W 53 

Stamp  Act 204 

Standard  History  of  Essex 

County  (Jewett)  .  .  328 
State  Constitution  (Mass.),  122 
Stickney,  Jeremiah  C.  .  . 

309,  310,  311,  312 

Stocker,  Eben 62 

Strawberry  Brook     .        .    .  190 

Striker,  Joseph 6^ 

Stuart  Kings 214 

Suffolk  Deeds     ....  134,  137 
13S.  142,  145 

Swone,  John 256 

Swain,  John 256 

Swaine,  Jeremy 269 

Swampscott 7 

Sweetser,  Samuel 27:! 

Samuel,  Jr 40 

Swett,  Samuel 110 

William  Gray  (Rev.)      .  110 


348 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Swift  (Dean) 330 

Tapley,  Henry  F. 70 

Tarbell,  Cornelius     .   .    .   .  254 

Elizabeth 50,  58 

Elizabeth  Cook  .   .    .   .  254 

John 59,  254 

Jonathan  ....  58,  59,  60 
253,  254,  255,  270,  273,  279 
Jonathan,  Jr.  .  .  253,  254 
Mary  (Felton)  .  .  .  .  253 
Mary  (Sharpe)  ....  254 

Sarah 255 

Tarbox,  John 137 

Taylor,  Anna 87,  116 

Christopher 86 

David 11 

Edward  T 49 

Eldad 53 

James    .    .    .  31,  85,  86,  116 

William 115,  116 

Thacher,  Thomas  Gushing 

(Rev.) 176 

Third  or  West  Parish  (Saugus) 

47,49 

Thomson-Houston  Electric  Co. 

302 

Thoreau's  "Walden  Pond,"  325 
Tichborne,  'Robert  (Sir)   .    .  142 

Ting,  William 144 

Tingle,  William 137 

Tirrell,  Minot,  Jr 312 

Tomlins,  Edward  .    .    .    .  4,  187 

Townsend,  Daniel,  248,  249,  250 

251,  252,  253 

256,  260,  262,  278 

Jacob 250 

John 250,  269 

Mary  (Hutchinson)    .    .  249 


PAGE 

Townsend,  Thomas,  250,252,255 

William  H 253 

Zerviah      250 

Zerviah,  Mrs.  (Upton)  . 

250,  252 

Tracy,  Cyrus  Mason    .  299,  323 
325-332 

Transcript,  Lynn 327 

Treadwell,  John  (Rev.)   .  8,  257 
Tucker,  Ichabod    .    .    .  221,  222 

Tufts,  David 7 

Gardiner  (Col.)  .   .  328,  329 

Richard 7 

Turner,  Nathaniel    .    .   -  4,  187 
Tyndale  (Dr.) 322 

Underbill  (Capt.) 282 

Upton,  Abra 256 

John      ....  250,  256,  262 

John,  Jr 273,  277 

Zerviah     250 

Vassall,  Samuel 181 

William 181,  184 

Ven,  John 181 

Waite,  Jonathan 115 

John 115 

Walker,  Richard 156 

Walnut  Street        .   .    .    .  61,  «7 

Walpole,  Horace 321 

Walton,  Izaak 74 

Nathan 262 

Ward,  Nathaniel  (Rev.)  .   .  284 

Washbourne,  Mr 224 

Washington,  George  (Presi- 
dent)     5,  54,  197 

Waverly  Oaks 233 

Webb,  Henry     ...      140,  144 


349 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Wellman,  Jesse  .   .  252, 255,  262 

Jonathan 255,  262 

Thomas 256,  262 

Whetcombe,  Symon    .  180,  187 

Whitcomb,  John 53 

Whitman,  Walt 307 

White,  Gilbert, '  'Natural  His- 
tory of  Selborne"  .   .  325 

John 35 

Whiting,  Elizabeth  St.  John,  319 
Samuel  (Rev.)   .  4,  152,  319 

William 319 

Whitmore,  William  H.    .   .  284 
Whittier,  John  G.    .   .  297,  330 

Wiggins,  Thomas 137 

Wiley,  Thomas      147 

Caleb 10 

William  and  Mary  .  .  .  .121 
William  of  Orange,  207,  211,  238 
Williams,  Roger  .  282,  288,  289 
Willis,  Thomas  .  .  4,  187,  195 
Winslow,  Josiah  .  .  .  141,  144 
Josiah  (Gov.) 213 


PAGE 

Winthrop,  John  (Gov.)     .  53,  54 

153,  225,  281,  282,  283 

284,  285,  287,  288,  295 

John,  Jr.  (Gov.  Conn.)  . 

130,  131,  132,  134,  135,  150 

John,  Sr 183,  Is4 

Robert,  Jr.     ...  130,  131 
Withington,  Leonard  (Rev. 

Dr.) 222 

Wizard  of  the  North    ...  322 

Wolf  Hill 163 

Wolton  (Walton)  Nathaniel,  256 

Timo 255 

"  Wonder  -Working    Provi- 
dence of  Sion's  Saviour 
in  New  England"  .   .136 
Wood,  John     ....      2,  297 

William 297 

Wright,  Nathaniel    .   .    .   .181 
Richard 186 

Young,  John  (Sir)  .   .    .  180,  181 


350 


16315 


A     000  677  062     2 


